Atonement: Lincoln Clay
by dmandog056
Summary: After Lincoln left town he thought he'd live the life of an honest man, but it looks like god had other ideas. Now it's up to Lincoln to use his talents to survive and adapt to a brave new world filled with things he'd see in comic books. "If all you ever look for is evil, it's all you're ever going to see."-Father James Ballard
1. A new day

Atonement: Lincoln Clay

[A/N: Please give this story a chance as I am a fan of of Mafia 3's story. Any reviews or follows would be appreciated so that I may make this story better and hopefully stay true to Lincoln's character. So please review, even some criticism would be appreciated as I want to write this story but I'm not sure where to take it. If I should rewrite this then I will if someone tells me I should at this point. Please tell what I need to do. Thank you.]

Episode 1: A New Day

NEW BORDEAUX 2016-THE FRENCH WARD: ST. JEROME'S CATHOLIC CHURCH

"*sigh* Even after all this time it's still so hard to know just how far that boy fell. To this day I still wonder if Lincoln's out there somewhere. After he left town, he just dropped off the face of the earth, but I knew he was too darn stubborn to die. Maybe someday, I know it's a snowball's chance in hell, but maybe he found peace and maybe in god's eyes he atoned for what he did. Doesn't mean I'd ever want him to come back. The things he did… well the bible says the lord has never ending forgiveness. But I don't know if I could ever forgive him, I guess that's just up to god at this point." Father James took a drag on a cigarette and the screen on the camera faded to black.

LOUISIANA 1968-INTERSTATE FWY: GAS STATION

Lincoln pulled to stop under the illuminated awning of the gas station's pumps. He sighed to himself as he pondered what he'd done over the course of time in the city he'd once called home. The rain came down hard around him, soaking the mud of the surrounding swamplands and forest. He'd taken down Marcano and left behind everything he ever knew, he couldn't tell whether he felt sick or satisfied. Father James had told him to leave and never come back, was it all worth it? In the end he was going to do what he said he'd do when he came back, he had wondered what the golden gate really looked like. He stepped out of the car pulled out the key and went to ask the clerk to put $40 on the pump. After that was done, he revved the engine and made his way back to the freeway. But just as he was about to hit the on ramp, Lincoln saw a deer on the road, he wasn't going fast enough to kill it and survive, so he swerved out of the way went downhill. The car bumped and bounced violently as the suspension took a beating from the rocky slope. He stomped on the breaks trying to halt the vehicle but they only screeched like a banshee. At that moment lightning happened to spark in the sky and as fate would have it a bolt struck the car as it was about to hit a tree. Lincoln passed out when he felt the impact and heard the thunderous boom around him.

UNKNOWN LOCATION SEVERAL HOURS LATER

Lincoln woke to the sound of a songbird chirping happily outside the car. He shook his head as he groggily woke himself from his escapade last night. He turned the key to re-fire the engine but the motor refused to start. His samson sports car was not in the best of shape and was giving an attitude, refusing to start. He sighed to himself again and started looking around to see that while he was still in a swampy environment, he wasn't on a hill anymore. He got out of the car to stretch his legs from the drive and go look for help or some new wheels. He pulled out the gear he could carry including an AR-15 assault rifle, 45 pistol, and grenades. With his gear in hand, he began walking until he found a dirt road in the middle of the woods.

The sunlight shone down from above through the dense canopy almost like stars at night. He felt his PTSD kick in as a flashback from Vietnam ran through his head. The hardened veteran shook it off and got back to his long walk, hopefully to a town near the highway where he could get back on the road. As Lincoln strolled along the path ahead he could feel something wasn't right out here in these woods. It was like there were eyes constantly watching him, waiting in the shadows. This unnerved him slightly but there wasn't much he could really do. Back in the jungle he at least had support and other soldiers beside him, but out here it was just him against whatever was watching him. It didn't scare him though just made him uneasy, he'd dealt with mobsters and all sorts of other hell back in his hometown. So, the odds seemed to be in his favor against the things this place could churn out. He had no idea just how wrong he really was.

Lincoln felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and immediately pulled out his rifle, scanning the area for hostiles. A twig broke and Lincoln immediately started firing in the direction of the sound as he ran down the road. Whatever it was the thing retreated into the brush and Lincoln stopped when he reached a clearing. He breathed heavily to calm himself when he reached the seemingly safe clearing. Lincoln felt that presence again and knew it was time to face whatever was stalking him out here. He reloaded the rifle and readied a grenade for insurance. A large wolf beast appeared from the brush and snarled at the stone-faced Lincoln.

"So, you're what's been dogging my ass?" Lincoln growled as he aimed the rifle. The beast glared back in response. "Fetch!" Lincoln threw the grenade at the wolf beast and unloaded his entire magazine at it. The grenade exploded and wounded the wolf-beast but it was clear that before it was only hungry, now it was mad. With a howl of anger and pain, the wolf beast rushed Lincoln who barely managed to dodge it. He took aim with the rifle and began firing at the creature. The rounds seemed to ping off the skull mask it wore which confused Lincoln a bit. 'Why in the hell is this damn thing even wearing a mask?' He thought as he focused on killing the monster. Lincoln kept shooting at the beast which was only pissing it off. Thick cracks were appearing on the mask and black was seeping from the bullet holes where it wasn't armored at least so he was doing some damage. He gritted his teeth as the monster ran at him again and tried to take mean chomp out of him.

"I didn't come this far to be a chew toy for some damn mutt!" Lincoln roared at the monster and dropped another grenade. The beast was wounded even further by the explosion and howled in pain very loudly as it finally died. When the beast hit the mud, Lincoln breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed. The monster dissolved and turned to ash right before his very eyes, which surprised the hell out of him. He'd experienced a lot of messed up things but this was a new one on him. Lincoln shook his head to try and make sense of it, but he decided that it wasn't worth trying to explain and looked for his duffle bag. He picked up the duffle bag and got back to walking down the road, whistling a tune as he walked. The forest echoed with the sounds of nature all around him, to him it seemed like he was walking through god's back yard with how tranquil it was.

Finally, after walking for what felt like hours, Lincoln stumbled on what appeared to be a small town. He couldn't see a gas station anywhere though, which was kind of strange. As he strolled through town he also noticed that that people were talking with different accents than what he'd hear in Louisiana. If anything, some of these people sounded Asian. The war veteran shrugged it off and kept on walking. He bumped into a young girl with mint green hair, a dark complexion, and red eyes. Instinctively, Lincoln checked his pockets and noticed the little girl had disappeared. "Hey come back here!" He shouted as he managed to see the girl running away down an alley. Determined to retrieve his wallet, Lincoln decided to track his little target. He'd learned some valuable things in the army, among them was the ability to track his opponents no matter the environment. The alley he followed the girl through was a dead end. The town wasn't that large so the girl couldn't have gone too far. He listened thoroughly and could swear he heard giggling somewhere nearby.

"Very funny, but ya aren't fooling me kid! Now come out and give back what's mine." Lincoln said with an unamused tone. He could tell something was off about this alley, like he was missing something, big time. Lincoln walked up to the wall and started feeling it to see if there was something out of the ordinary. He put his down on a box, only for his hand to pass through it. When that happened, heard the patter of more little footsteps running away. He dove through the spot where the box was and saw the girl running into an abandoned area. Lincoln pursued her through the spooky old building being hot on her trail. Eventually she was cornered and Lincoln stuck his hand out. She shut her eyes at first because he thought she would get hit but it never came. What did happen was her pursuer had grabbed her shirt and stared down at her disapprovingly.

"Rule number 1, don't steal from someone you can't beat or outrun. Now hand it over." Lincoln scolded the girl.

"I don't have it!" She pleaded.

"Number 2, don't lie, it makes things worse." Lincoln said as his eyes seemed to bore through her skull.

"Okay fine! Here!" She said as she threw the wallet. Lincoln felt his instincts flare up and didn't bat an eye.

"That doesn't work twice." Lincoln said as his frown deepened.

"You win." She said dejectedly as she pulled the wallet out of her pocket and dropped it to the floor. Lincoln picked it up, put it back in his own pocket, let the girl go and turned to walk away. As he did that the girl's stomach growled and against his better judgement as well as listening to a voice at the back of his head. He had a nagging feeling that despite what he'd done, he wasn't a bad man. He knew the priest wouldn't have turned away the child, hell the man himself said he'd loved running the orphanage. Plus, Lincoln had grown up without a family until Sammy and Ellis came along. He stopped walking and signaled for the girl to follow him. She proceeded cautiously as she inched her way toward the man who'd caught her. After that was done, Lincoln took her hand and the two of them left the old house.

As they walked hand in hand the girl decided to speak. "Uh mister?"

"What?" Lincoln replied.

"I don't think we'll be able to buy anything." The girl said calmly.

"What makes you say that?" Lincoln raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't see any lien cards in your wallet. Just some weird paper stuff." The girl explained the situation.

"You steal yet you've never seen a dollar before?" Lincoln asked skeptically.

"What's a dollar? Money? Cause I don't think people take those around here." She retorted with her hands on her hips. This made Lincoln stop for a moment out of confusion. That didn't make any sense to him at all, he was supposed to be in the US and he'd never heard of this Lien before. He began to have sneaking suspicion he wasn't in Louisiana or even America anymore. He just decided to play along and figure it out later.

"Then what in god's name is Lien?" Lincoln replied after a brief silence.

"It's money doofus." She cutely sassed the grown man who just rolled his eyes. Lincoln then spotted two shady guys in another alley way beating each other. He told the girl to wait and walked over to the two guys. "Get lost asshole!" the thugs bellowed at the approaching man. Lincoln just kept on walking forward, getting bigger and bigger in the eyes of the two men who just peed their pants. Unknown to Lincoln, he appeared to be a small giant to the men in front of him. without hesitating, Lincoln rammed their head together and knocked them both out with his muscular arms. Two more guys walked out of the back door of the restaurant to see their buddies knocked the hell out. They saw Lincoln and rushed him with knives drawn. As one guy tried to slash man another seemed to only be attacking air. Not caring about that, Lincoln started slugging the hell out of his attacker. He threw a right jab, followed by a left cross, and finished with a headbutt. Lincoln came up behind the second goon and choked him out. With that the fight was over, and Lincoln looted his victims for anything useful. His search produced several cards that seemed important, he then walked back over to the girl and showed her the cards.

"These things worth something?" Lincoln produced the various cards.

"Yep, nice job beating those guys up." The girl nodded with a smile.

"I've got plenty of experience." Lincoln shrugged and the two of them proceed into the restaurant and sat down at an empty table. Lincoln ordered the food and relaxed in the booth seat. The girl twiddled her thumbs and got bored pretty quick, like she waiting for something other than food.

"So, what's your name?" The girl asked inquisitively.

"Call me Lincoln." He answered.

"I'm Emerald." She announced her name to Lincoln.

"What like the gem?" He popped a hole in her bubble.

"Well what else should it be genius?" she snapped.

"I'm not one to judge." Lincoln put his hands up.

"So, are you gonna thank me?" The mint haired girl asked expectantly.

"For what?" He replied.

"For helping you beat those guys up!" Emerald snapped with her cheeks puffed up adorably.

"Really? How did you help me then?" Lincoln crossed his arms with a humorous look on his face.

"I can make people see things that aren't really there! Didn't you see the guy who was slicing thin air or how those other two guys wet their pants when you walked up to them?! I made you look like a giant! That was all me." The minty haired girl ranted at her benefactor with a smug look on her face at the end of her little tantrum.

"Let me get this straight, you have a super power?" Lincoln asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Mmhmm!" She hummed proudly.

"Well that explains a few things." Lincoln chuckled with a slight smile. "Fine, thank you."

"Your welcome." Emerald smiled.

"This day just can't get any weirder from here I guess." He spoke too soon as a girl delivered their orders and she had a pair of bear ears on her head. Not the weirdest thing he'd ever seen but it was now on the list of weird shit. Those ears were definitely real alright, Lincoln could tell from how they twitched in discomfort as her net customer bellowed for her to hurry it up and called her a 'damn animal'. The man slapped the girl and she just turned the other cheek with a tear on her face. Lincoln knew racism when he saw it, which made his blood boil a bit, and decided to get up from the table. Emerald sat there and enjoyed her food as she heard Lincoln start a brawl with the foul-mouthed man. The sounds of plates smashing and metal clanging rang loudly. The view came back to Lincoln as he held the man in a lock and had a soap bar in his other hand. "Someone ought to wash your mouth out asshole." Lincoln said as he shoved the soap bar into the racist's mouth and knocked him out.

"T-thank you, no one's ever stood up for me before." The waitress said in awe as she was stunned from the experience. She blushed a bit when she looked at Lincoln since he was a handsome man aside form the scar on his head.

"No problem mis." Lincoln nodded and sat back down with emerald and the two enjoyed their meal. The manager decided it would be best not call the cops until after the dangerous patron was gone. Lincoln and Emerald left the restaurant when they were done and Lincoln caught a wink from the girl as he left.

-END CHAPTER-


	2. Street fighting man

Atonement: Lincoln Clay

Episode 2: street fighting man

* * *

[Wombag 1786: Thanks dude!]

[Guest 1: it's up now.]

[SilentXD7: Oh well thanks man.]

[Guest 2: Yes that is definitely a plus. The wiki doesn't mention her origins besides the fact that Cinder found her somewhere in a city. So yeah I have some creative freedom there.]

[Guest 3: I'll try to make it good.]

[Review Dude: I promise to do my best to keep you intrigued bro!]

[Guest 4: Well yeah, it doesn't help to freak the F out, plus I can't see him losing his mind over it. He was going to be hunted anyway, so this is a fresh start. I don't see why he can't, I agree that it is the best way he knows to make money.]

* * *

-MISTRAL-RIGHT AFTER THE DINER INCIDENT-

"So where are you from Lincoln?" Emerald asked as the pair walked down the street.

"Does it matter?" Lincoln replied stoically.

"I'm just curious is all." Emerald answered innocently enough.

"Then it's a long story." The girl's new caretaker refused to say.

"I'd say we have time." Emerald continued to try Lincoln's patience.

"Let's just say that I had to leave my home and a few friends behind. I don't think I'll be seeing any of them for a long time, the ones that are still alive anyway." He sighed and stopped, looking up to see the sky growing dark as night set in over the town.

"Why?" Emerald chirped.

"That's complicated." Lincoln stone walled her.

"Why?" Emerald repeated in an attempt to get a rise out of her benefactor.

"Don't play that game with me Emerald." Lincoln warned her not to keep egging him on, she was worse than Ellis used to be. "

"Aw why not?" She tilted her head.

"I may be a patient kind of guy but right now I need time to think because we have other things to worry about." Lincoln said pragmatically.

"Like what?" The minty haired girl asked as she put her hands behind her head.

"For starters, where are we going to sleep? Unless you want to stay at that old house I found you in." The former soldier/criminal said pragmatically, reminding the girl that she was homeless and her caretaker is a wanderer.

"Um no." She tapped a finger to her chin cutely and deflated.

"Then it looks like we'll have to figure something out. Is there a motel or some kind of inn around here?" Lincoln asked as he sat down on a bench.

"There's one over by the town hall." Emerald replied pointing in the direction of the town center.

"Then if we have enough cash on these cards we'll rent a room for the night." Lincoln stretched a bit in his seat as he relaxed. He pondered the whole situation of recent events that had brought him to this point. If he was really in another world it was best to avoid freaking out, he'd been trained better than that after all. Basic training in the US ARMY was rough, not as bad as the MARINES but still tough overall not to mention he'd been in one of the most decorated units of the war. His instincts told him he needed to figure out more about where the hell he is otherwise he'd be up shit creek without a paddle. He really wished his old CIA buddy Donovan was here. The man may be crazy and super patriotic, but he was one of the few people Lincoln could call a friend besides Vito Scaletta, and Nicki Burke. Now he had a kid to take care of on top of his new problems, so despite his calm demeanor, Lincoln was on a short fuse right now. He knew how to run a criminal organization since his underbosses didn't kill each other, but he had no clue whatsoever on how to start one. The war veteran was shaken from his thoughts by a loud explosion that came from the same direction as he did when entered the town. He instinctively jumped from his seat on the bench and was on alert. He pulled out his rifle and saw a large group of what appeared to be bandits rushing from the dense jungle.

"Get behind cover and Stay close to me Emerald!" Lincoln shouted to his little friend who wasted no time following his orders. He began ripping into the bandit crew with his AR-15 rifle. The ones with guns noticed his counter offensive and began shooting back at the lone soldier. Lincoln took a breath and time slowed down around him. He held down the trigger of his rifle and started blowing several heads off in a row. After that moment he took cover behind a large rock since the volume of fire was way too heavy for him. He peeked from behind his cover and saw the positions of the attacking force. With this knowledge in hand, Lincoln dove out to the other side from behind the rock taking them by surprise. He emptied his magazine into another small group of bandits that failed to realize they'd picked a fight with a dangerous man. One bandit ran at Lincoln with a pair of hatchets to try and attack him. This guy hadn't accounted for Lincoln's large size and extensive muscles from his military service.

The larger man blocked the hatchet strikes with his rifle and began to beat the snot of his opponent. He then beat the clueless bandit upside his head with the rifle, breaking his neck. Lincoln pulled another grenade from his belt, threw it at the bandits and heard them scream in pain as they blew up. Seeing the bravery of the lone man with just his rifle, several locals rallied together joining in the fight to help Lincoln drive off the bandits. Another bandit came at Lincoln with a melee weapon only to get stabbed in the throat with a bayonet. Lincoln gritted his teeth when one found Emerald and started an attempt at kidnapping her. He was on top of the bastard in the span of a few seconds, beating him repeatedly with the butt of the rifle like it was club. The dead man's skull was turned into a bloody pulp of skull, face, and brain. Out of the corner of his eye, Lincoln spotted a glint and sidestepped a rifle shot. He drew his pistol, putting five rounds into the skull of the man, splattering bits of brain and skull everywhere.

He grabbed another melee attacker's arm and snapped it before stabbing him repeatedly. Lincoln charged a group with his rifle out again, running into one with his bayonet strapped to the barrel. He impaled his first target and began shooting through his corpse. After taking down another two bandits, Lincoln dropped the corpse and turned his attention to rest of them attackers who seemed to be fleeing after they'd had enough punishment. But in actuality, they were just regrouping and waiting for their leader. Lincoln had a bad feeling in his gut and reloaded after taking cover. He really wished he hadn't left some of his other guns in the trunk of his car in the woods, including an M60 Vito had given him.

It certainly didn't help that his enemies weren't using too many weapons with ammo he could scavenge. Emerald was next to him shaking slightly at what she'd seen Lincoln do to the man who grabbed her. It was at least a calming thought that her large protector had saved her life, for which she would be extremely grateful. She looked up to Lincoln, and he gave her a gaze that said he'd get them through this come hell or high water. In his mind Lincoln was trying to think of a way to survive this, he'd fought off entire groups of hit men, ruthless mobsters, sadistic psychopaths, and blood thirsty mercenaries, this situation was not much different. It was just like Vietnam all over again for him, back on the frontline and either watching people die around him or slaughtering his enemies in brutal fashion. He had a real reason to fight though, the kid next to him needed him and Lincoln was always loyal to the people who were close to him. So, he knew he had to face the odds despite his low ammo and decreased arsenal, he had to keep fighting.

Then the leader of the bandits revealed herself. Lincoln looked to see a feminine figure who seemed to stare straight at him as the bandits stepped aside while she walked past them. Lincoln felt his gut confirm that she was what gave him that bad feeling. She looked around to see all the bodies that Lincoln alone had dropped, and there were quite a few of them. She saw the man Lincoln had mercilessly beaten to death, laying on the ground with his head smashed to a bloody pulp and face indistinguishable from a squashed tomato. Lincoln slowly rose from his cover and looked her dead in the eye. It was time for a bold move, do or die.

"I've got one thing to say to you, are you gonna listen or I do I have to kill your ass?!" Lincoln roared at the woman who continued to stare at him, almost like she was sizing him up.

"Did you kill all of them?" She finally answered in a cold voice.

"I'm the one asking the questions." Lincoln replied intensely.

"Fine, talk." The woman put a hand to her sword and continued to look right at Lincoln.

"Your boy over there tried to take my young friend. That makes this shit personal, so I did what I had to. Since you're the one leading these assholes, I'm placing the responsibility on you. I don't kill women unless I have to, but if it means walking away from this alive with my girl then fine by me. If I can do that to him, imagine what I'll do to you. I will not hesitate to take as many of your cronies with me as I can. Besides that, we have no quarrel with each other. You walk away and I let this go, both of us forget we ever saw each other." Lincoln said with a fire in his eyes and finger on the trigger. Raven could see he was dangerous from how he fought her tribesmen and what he'd said. She had to respect his skills and tenacity for how many of them he'd slaughtered, and his apparent willingness to keep going until he dies.

"You're dangerous, I'll give you that." The woman said, while she was eyeing the bullet scar on his head. To her that meant two things, he was lucky enough to be a survivor and strong enough to kill whoever inflicted it upon him. There was a pregnant silence over the blood-soaked battlefield as the two dangerous individuals looked each other dead in the eyes. A wind blew over the street, dragging the morbid stench of blood and rusted iron along with it. The woman still had her hand on the hilt of her sword and Lincoln kept on pointing his gun at her. After a cough echoed from one of the bandits, Lincoln decided to retort.

"I was trained to be lethal, and I became a survivor, so yeah I'm dangerous. Now what's it going to be? Like I said, if I'm going down I'll take as many of you with me as possible. So, choose, drown me in blood now, or leave and don't waste any more bodies. It's all up to you because I won't back down!" Lincoln didn't waver in his speech and proudly stood his ground in defiance.

"What's your name? Tell me and I'm gone." The sword wielding woman asked calmly.

"My name is Lincoln Clay motherfucker." Lincoln growled as he narrowed his eyes.

"Then farewell, Lincoln. Today you have my respect, but the next time we meet, I will kill you if you stand in my way again." Raven said as she waved for her warriors to leave with what they could. She then turned away from the man but not before he had one last chance to reply.

"Same to you bitch." Lincoln said loud enough for him to be sure she could hear. Raven stopped for a moment, putting Lincoln on edge. She pulled out her sword and opened a portal, Lincoln couldn't help being surprised by that. He breathed a sigh of relief when she and her goons had disappeared like they were never there. The people who were still alive cheered at the man who'd saved them. If this was what being a hero felt like, Lincoln enjoyed it. He remembered when he fought in Tommy Marcano's Gym, the cheers were loud from when he worked the crowd but this was different. This was victory, and it felt good. He looked down at Emerald and smiled warmly. The girl was in awe, she'd heard of a tribe destroying entire villages in their raids leaving very few people alive and the rest would be eaten by the Grimm afterwards. But now here she was alive and breathing with one man who'd actually defied them and their leader. Suffice it to say, Lincoln had more than earned her loyalty.

"Come on Emerald, we're leaving this town." Lincoln said as he grabbed the minty haired girl's hand. His was like a bear paw compared to hers, and it really made her feel small.

"R-right. Uh Lincoln?" Emerald stuttered and looked to her protector. "Thanks for saving me. If you weren't here…" She said with a tear in her eye.

"Your welcome, someone's got to take care of you right? And if I don't who will? Maybe some twisted asshole who's even worse. Believe me I've known worse." Lincoln joked with a reassuring smile on his face.

"Right." Emerald said gaining her own smile back.

"Well let's hit the road. But first there's a few things I should grab from the jungle." Lincoln and Emerald started to walk away.

"What's out there besides well… them and the grimm?" Emerald pointed to the dead bodies.

"Ok what? On second thought, for now just forget I asked." Lincoln said in a relaxed tone. "I wrecked my car out there, it's far but not that far. God knows I can't leave you alone, so let's-"

"Hey mister, are you talking about this?" A mechanic pointed to a black and red pickup truck that was parked in a now open garage. The truck had a black roll cage, black bed light bar and black bumper bar. It was the same Lassiter Nightcrawler pickup Roxy had given him before she left, Lincoln hadn't seen her since that night. The truck had disappeared not too long before he left New Bordeaux, he'd had Burke and Vito's crews comb the city while Cassandra's Haitians scoured the bayou.

"How in the hell did that get here? I mean that's mine, but that's not the one I wrecked out there." Lincoln exclaimed in surprise at the sight of his ex-girlfriend's wheels being in another world.

"I found this one awhile back and another out in the jungle today." The mechanic

"Was it a shiny black sports car?" Lincoln asked hopefully.

"Yeah, I'm guessing they're both yours. I had to pull the engine out because it was out of fuel and we didn't exactly have whatever it needs to run. So, since it didn't run on dust, I did some custom work. If it's yours I'd say you can take it for saving all of us." The mechanic told Lincoln about his find and overhaul.

"Damn right they're mine. Wait, custom work? That used to belong to… someone I cared about, so what did you do with the block?" Lincoln said almost joyfully and then his tone changed to a more serios one.

"I made a few modifications so it would run on fire dust. It really hauls ass, I can promise you that! The black one though is toast, that motor that was there is done. It's not getting fixed, even if it still worked I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be able to find the weird fuel that was in the tank to run it. Not to mention the body and frame were torn up by a Grimm from what I could tell." The mechanic told Lincoln honestly.

"Did you check the trunk yet?" Lincoln asked remembering his stash in the trunk.

"No why?" The mechanic raised an eyebrow.

"Good, that means all my gear is still in there." Lincoln breathed a sigh of relief. The veteran opened the trunk of the drifter, loaded his gear into a crate, and secured it to the nightcrawler's bed. Once that was that done Lincoln received directions to a town with a port near the coast, so Lincoln could get himself and Emerald to a place called Vale and as far from that crazy bitch as possible. The two partners strapped into the seats and took off down the road with a sweet burnout.

-END CHAPTER-


	3. Lost children

Atonement: Lincoln Clay

Episode 3: Lost children

* * *

[Review dude: Thanks man, although I do think I remember Blake mentioning that the white fang had tried some of those peaceful tactics in the past. Lincoln could try but he was usually Laveau's (AKA the Voice) muscle for certain less peaceful matters in helping with the civil rights movement. Not saying no, it's just that turning the other cheek is something Lincoln has a hard time doing. I definitely appreciate the the suggestions though, and I'll see what I can do.]

[Wombag1786: Yeah I know, shame on me. But I can't think of a better person to stand up to at that point in time. Thanks for your support Wombag!]

[Ronmr: I do see the need to have him get back into the game, but for more just reasons than vengeance and greed, you're actually about to find out one of them now. That's not a bad idea actually, having him recruit Junior and Roman. Of course, both of them might need more than subtle persuasion. I'll try to have him walk the line between hero and criminal, and see where it goes. Maybe he'll do some good that way more than makes up for the blood from his past.]

* * *

-MISTRAL JUNGLE-ON THE ROAD-

Lincoln and Emerald had been enjoying their road trip together with the car being fast enough to either outrun or run over most threats the jungle would throw at them. It felt good for Lincoln to have some company on his adventure. He didn't know why but when he looked at Emerald, he felt like he made a huge change of some kind. It was just another thing that didn't quite make sense to him though. But he supposed that it didn't really matter, he just had to focus on the here and now until he could set down roots. The nightcrawler's engine screamed as it tore through the jungle's dirt roads just like back in the bayou. Grimm would occasionally try to attack the speeding pickup but Lincoln would manage to evade them or run them over when possible. It was turning out to be pretty fun for the odd pair if they were being honest. Some of the more tenacious Grimm would try to keep up with the high-speed pickup, only to be outrun by the truck's supercharged dust motor. He was lucky to have found a mixtape of songs from his home in the glove compartment Roxy had made for him. Emerald seemed to have a mixed opinion on the music from Lincoln's home but she didn't hate any of it.

The truck pulled up to a crossroad and Lincoln looked closely at the sign. The letters on the on the other direction were worn away while the other was looking slightly more maintained. He remembered what the mechanic had told about him passing through a place called Kuroyuri. Without a second thought on the matter, Lincoln deciding to follow the sign, threw the truck in gear and drove off in the direction of the village. With a mighty howl of raw horsepower, the nightcrawler blasted down the road towards its destination. Lincoln yet again couldn't help but feel like something terrible was close by and whatever it was, this thing was in some way worse than the other day's bandit leader. He decided not to tell Emerald in order to avoid scaring her, like he was protecting her. As they closed in on the town, Lincoln spotted large pillars of smoke rising from the direction he was driving, Kuroyuri. He screeched to a halt at the edge of the village to see the town burning and inside of it was a huge gathering of dark creatures. They all looked so similar to that same monster he'd encountered back a few days ago. The entire place appeared to be in absolute chaos.

At the very sight of this Lincoln's mind briefly flashed back to his experience from the war, the death, the madness, the blood. "What the fuck is going on over there?"

"The Grimm, a lot of them." Emerald replied in a solemn tone.

"You mean those things are the Grimm you mentioned?! I fought one on my way to where I met you." He turned his gaze to Emerald and she also looked at the hellish view before her.

"This is what they do, to everyone they can, everywhere they can. Nobody knows why." After a short moment of thought, the child put on a brave face and nodded to her protector. Some naive part of him deep down knew there was just something he had to do, he couldn't just watch it burn. Lincoln's instincts screamed at him to stay away but he knew he had to do something about this, he couldn't just leave any innocent people to die. Being a criminal is one thing, but being a heartless bastard is another thing entirely, the latter being something Lincoln knew he wasn't.

"Then let's do something about it." With a scowl on his face and fire in his eyes, Lincoln threw the truck in gear and slammed on the gas pedal. The nightcrawler screamed in agreement as they rocketed toward the burning village. Lincoln tore down the main boulevard with all possible haste. The beasts heard the cry of the nightcrawler as it blasted through them. Lincoln plowed over four wolf beasts in a row, splattering black blood on the hood. He turned on the windshield wipers and began raising all kinds of hell.

"C'mon you bastards, come get some!" Lincoln shouted out of the side of his window. His act of sheer bravery was attracting many monsters including one massive beast that towered over the others. This monster had the appearance of a mutated demonic black horse and nightmarish rider. The beast screeched at the roaring car and its determined passengers. Lincoln hit the brakes and revved the engine as if he himself was roaring at the beast to charge him. The tires of the pickup truck screeched on the ground with smoke rising from their place. A song named 'Hold on I'm coming' started playing on the tape deck and Lincoln rocked his head to the beat.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?!" Emerald shouted to Lincoln over the song.

"To be honest, for once I didn't think this through!" Lincoln said as he punched the gas, charged for the monster's legs and caused it to stumble. He threw a grenade out the side of the truck and actually hurt the beast.

"What?!" The minty haired girl gawked at Lincoln's lack of planning ahead.

"Relax, we'll get through this, I've been in way tougher spots before!" Lincoln tried to reassure his tiny partner.

Nearby, two scared children were watching the battle between machine and Grimm from their hiding place, listening to the truck's supped up engine howl at the monster in front of it. They were hearing the reassuring words of the song playing so loudly throughout the entire area. It filled them with a new sense of hope, like help had finally arrived to save them. They looked out from their hiding spot, avoiding the monster's gaze and seeing the bright lights of the truck glaring like fierce eyes at the terrifying beast. The monster launched its arms forward like they were giant tentacles of some kind. Lincoln reacted quickly, threw the truck in gear and stomped on the gas, barely avoiding the massive reach of the demon in front of him. It appeared his time spent stock car racing on the side actually helped out for more than just car chases in New Bordeaux and Sinclair Parish. The beast screeched to the heavens in apparent anger at the difficulty it was having in pinning down the nimble truck.

"I think we're just making it mad!" Emerald shouted to Lincoln.

"What matters is that we're hurting it!" Lincoln replied while keeping a cool head.

"Lincoln Look!" Emerald pointed to the two survivors. Lincoln got a good a view and they were only kids, about as young as his little associate in the passenger seat. One of them wore a green jacket with a pink stripe in his hair, while the other was clearly a little ginger girl in rags.

"I see 'em!" Lincoln said as he tried to maneuver the truck closer to the two children. The beast seemed to be catching on to Lincoln's rescue attempt and swung it arms at the spot where it predicted the truck would stop. Lincoln swerved out of the way and refocused on distracting the monster. "Damn it, this thing isn't stupid!" Lincoln cursed angrily. It seemed at least that his opponent hadn't spotted the children, but it couldn't stay that way forever.

"I've heard that the smarter Grimm are the older ones so that means this one's been around for a while! I don't think we can beat it like this Lincoln! We have to run!" Emerald chimed in with a fearful tone.

"We aren't just gonna leave them here." The former soldier growled in determination. He then had idea, if emerald could use her semblance they might be able to pull it off. Lincoln stomped on the gas again and swerved around the massive creature as it tried in vain to attack the vehicle with it's whip like arms. "Emerald, can you cast an illusion on that thing? Can you cast a smokescreen or make it see copies of them that'll turn its attention away long enough so we can pick them up! Anything would be good right now!" Lincoln barely swerved around another strike from the beast.

"I don't know if I can do that! Helping you with those thugs was one thing, but this is a Grimm, an old and smart one at that!" Emerald shouted incredulously.

"You have to try it, because I don't know what else to do short of hopping out and grabbing a machine gun! I don't even think with the rest of the guns I have that I can go head to head with that thing!" Lincoln told his minty haired partner about the seriousness of the situation. He may be a one-man army, but that thing was out of his league right now.

"That's it! You don't have to, I just have to make it look like you did!" Emerald snapped her fingers as a spark of brilliance struck her.

"Alright, that's what I like to hear! When I give the signal, I want you do it!" Lincoln praised her and told her what to do.

"Got it!" Emerald gave a cute little salute. Lincoln pulled around again, appearing to be giving the beast another face-off. The abomination that stood before them seemed to be biding its time, waiting for the duo in their truck to make another pass. Lincoln revved the engine and the tires spun against the pavement, creating a smoke screen around the car. Then a figure charged away from the car and out of the smoke. The Grimm beast immediately went after the running figure and away from the car. Lincoln let go of the brakes and pulled up next to the two children.

"Get in now, both you!" Lincoln commanded to them. The ginger was in first, followed closely by the boy in the green jacket. Lincoln reached over and slammed the door shut with a loud bang. Over with the beast, it swung its arms at the illusion, causing it to dissipate. The nightmarish creature of darkness turned its attention over to the car and screeched in anger as the vehicle escaped into the jungle. The two children watched their home disappear into the distance as the pickup truck sped further down the road away from the dead village. After a long period of silence from the new arrivals, the boy decided to speak to his and Nora's saviors.

"Thank you for saving us." The boy in the green jacket pleasantly thanked the people who'd saved him and his friend.

"YEAH THANK YOU!" The ginger girl shouted happily at the top of her lungs with some tears in her eyes. She almost tackled the big man in the driver's seat with a bear hug, causing the nightcrawler to swerve a bit.

"Woah, I get that you're happy to be alive, but I'm trying to drive!" The former soldier said as he regained control of the vehicle and struggled to try prying the abnormally strong little girl from his torso.

"Ooops sorry!" She giggled and backed off, with Lincoln nodding in appreciation. "So, are you a huntsman?" She asked curiously, which threw Lincoln off again since he still had so much to learn about this strange new world.

"Yes, I would also like to know as well." The boy joined his friend in their little investigation into the identity of the man at the wheel of the vehicle.

"For your information, I'm Emerald and the big guy driving this rig is my buddy Lincoln Clay!" The minty haired girl stepped up and answered their questions herself.

"Thank you for that ringing endorsement Em. Okay kids listen up, whatever a huntsman is, I'm not one of 'em. I'm… just some guy with no place to go except forward." Lincoln remarked sarcastically and coolly explained his current lack of an occupation or employment of any kind.

"Is he your dad?" The bubbly ginger asked the minty haired girl.

"What? No! Well kind of, but not really." Emerald huffed and puffed up her cheeks.

"How did you meet?" The quiet boy asked inquisitively.

"I tried to steal his wallet and he gave me some food after teaching me how to steal stuff better." The minty haired girl said proudly. The other two children looked at each other and then at the self-admitted little thief.

"To answer your question, she ain't mine, but I did take her in since she had nobody else to turn to. I'm guessing you're both alone now too, aren't you?" Lincoln chuckled at first but his tone changed to a sorrowful one.

"Yes, we are. My friend was alone long before today, and that thing you fought, it killed my parents." The boy in the green jacket replied solemnly as a small tear ran down his cheek.

"I've been there before, you're not alone in losing people. I'd know that better than anyone else you've met." Lincoln replied in an attempt to console the boy, remembering the night Sal and Giorgi betrayed him, Sammy, Ellis, and Danny. The two ruthless mobsters had lit Sammy's bar on fire with molotovs He was lucky father James had saved his life that night by pulling him out of the fire. That was how his whole quest for revenge started in the first place. Now here he was, doing the same thing that father James and Sammy did for him for these innocent children. After a few minutes of silence for the young boy's loss, Lincoln spoke again to help ease the feeling of sadness. "Anyway, I figure now y'all need a place to stay, and someone to look out for you. So, you two can stick with me and Emerald for a while. That's if you want to though, it's all really up to you to decide."

"Yes, thank you so much." The little boy said with tears of joy in his eyes at the kindness of the heroic stranger.

"Your welcome. It's the least I can do for a few kids with no place left to go or stay." Lincoln said with a smile as he adjusted the rearview mirror and listened to some tunes.

"Yay, we're all one big happy family! I'm Nora Valkyrie, and this is my best friend Renny!" The hyper little ginger girl shouted with glee.

"It's Lie Ren, Nora." The boy shook his head with a smile on his face.

'Dear god, what've I gotten myself into?' Lincoln thought to himself as the three children began chattering amongst themselves. Now it was three mouths to feed and a whole mess of new problems for the former soldier from New Bordeaux, his aunt Lily had wanted him to have some kids someday. Although it probably wouldn't be how she expected. Shaking old memories out of his head, he turned up the music and drove off into the night with the three children in tow.

-END CHAPTER-


	4. My darkness goes

Atonement: Lincoln Clay

Episode 4: My darkness goes

A/N: I suffered a bit of writer's block with this but I hope you all understand.

* * *

[Ronmr: Yep ol' Lincoln's a crminal with a heart. Since they're not violent right now he could leave an impression on them with his own experience of racisim from our world.]

[Review dude: Thank you man! I hope you like this chapter!]

[Mr. ReadMore: Thank you good sir, I suffered from writer's block with this episode though but I hope you like it.]

[Wombag1786: Alrighty then, and yeah they should have no problem changing things up.]

[buzzsaw935: yep.]

[Guest: Yes, he is very far from the beginning. but he'll get there.]

[Blackdog420: Thank you, and while I would love to have Lincoln save Mercury from darkness as well I don't know enough about him to have Lincoln do it.]

[Disabled-doctor: I'll try to keep you entertained but I admit I suffered from writer's block.]

* * *

-3 DAYS LATER-

Lincoln and his three adopted kids continued their journey across mistral together in the slightly cramped nightcrawler. In one of the villages the had stopped in, Nora nearly emptied Lincoln's wallet when they stopped to eat breakfast. She'd had pancakes stacked very high much to the former mobster's surprise. Emerald and Nora were getting just fine though, except for when it came to some daddy's girl moments. Lincoln was having trouble trying to devote his attention to both of them at the same time as one or the other would plead for a piggy big ride. Being a single dad was definitely rougher than a lot of the other objectives Lincoln had ever taken on, but at least he had help from Ren. The boy was definitely proving himself to be a stable older brother figure among the three step siblings. Ren would often act to draw Nora's hyperactive attention away from Lincoln and onto time with each other. The kids had definitely worked their way into Lincoln's heart with their antics as he couldn't help but feel happy around them. It was like there was a little spark coming from them he had felt around certain people. That kind of glimmer of hope had a chance to pull him up from that dark place left from that night when Sammy's burned down. Lincoln didn't openly acknowledge it, but these children were changing him, possibly for the better. It was night and the group had stopped to make camp outside a village.

Lincoln sat in the truck bed and looked up at the night sky to see the broken moon. He remembered hearing about a movie called the wizard of OZ that reminded him of what he was now going through. He hadn't watched it, but Donovan told him a bit about it. He wondered how the company man was dealing with the fallout from their quest to rid New Bordeaux of Sal Marcano. He had no doubt that whatever Donovan was up to, he had ways of taking care of himself. The former criminal just couldn't help but let his thoughts then drift to father James and what the man would think of him now. Now Lincoln was taking care of three homeless orphans just like they were his own. He stared at the broken moon above intensely, wondering just what might've caused such a thing to occur. The three children had fallen asleep in the truck cab huddled next to each other for warmth. Lincoln felt bad for lacking a blanket to cover them. He took off his utility jacket and draped it over the three of them, causing them to unconsciously snuggle into it. Lincoln hopped into the cab and fell asleep sitting up.

-DREAMSCAPE-

The former soldier found himself in a black void with darkness all around him. Then as if like clockwork, the same traumatic nightmare played in front of him. He sat there watching again as the same dark vision that he had described to Sal before he killed him. The madness that was the war in Vietnam, that same fox hole, unable to move or scream to warn his fellow soldiers. Then his mind wandered from that nightmare to a dark memory, the death cult known as Ensanglante. Bonnie Harless the, black hearted and sadistic leader of that horrific pit of evil. Her defiling of the place Lincoln once called home and the soul breaking torture of Anna McGill. The poor girl Anna, who'd been broken by the cult and killed herself to escape the madness lest it consume her. The dark pools of black sludge that nearly consumed him that night had her soul not saved his own, it terrified him. His fears and nightmares echoed throughout his tortured soul, reminded of those he could not save as well as the river of blood on his hands. Lincoln then found himself staring at a group of tombstones, all of them bearing the names of his foster children and himself. A loud crack of thunder boomed and shocked Lincoln from his troubled sleep.

-REAL WORLD-

*Gasp* Lincoln woke with a start to find himself staring at the steering wheel with the kids still sound asleep beside him. 'Just a dream, a crazy dream.' Lincoln thought to himself as he looked outside to see rain pouring down outside. Nora was snoring big time but it didn't seem to bother Ren and Emerald.

Emerald stirred next to him and opened her eyes slightly. "Lincoln, what's wrong?" She said sleepily.

"Nothing, just a bad dream." He said to the minty haired girl.

"You have those too?" Emerald tilted her head.

"Everybody does, even me. But it was nothing, I'm good." Lincoln patted her on the head.

"Okay." Emerald went back to sleep. After a few minutes of silence, sans Nora snoring, Lincoln started the engine again and resumed his drive towards the sea. The nightmare kept running through his mind, the graveyard where his children were laid to rest. As hard as he tried to forget it, the image wouldn't leave his mind. He turned on the tape deck and played it to hear the sounds of 'paint it black' running on the tape. He pulled into the village as the rain poured down around the nightcrawler. The former mob boss reached into his wallet and looked at the lien cards with a frown on his face. He knew that there was only so much left from his fight with thugs a few days ago but there wasn't much he could do. Nothing that didn't involve him getting on the wrong side of the wrong people anyway. Several minutes later all the kids woken up and were back to testing his patience.

He could see the place was full of street walking scum just like the poorer areas of New Bordeaux so there wasn't a shortage of thugs to hustle. The problem now was either finding a score or hustling and not getting the children involved. The sea wasn't too far now but he knew he'd cash for the trip. At that moment Nora tugged on his jacket and the brawny caretaker looked down at the little ginger girl.

"I want pancakes!" Nora demanded in her own cute sort of way. Lincoln tried ignoring her since he was still trying to think of how to get money to buy something to feed the kids with.

"You always want pancakes Nora." Ren said calmly shaking his head and being a voice of reason.

"Pancakes are the most important part of a person's diet! You can't have pancakes without a healthy bucket of syrup!" Nora said manically with a cute little pout.

"Nora don't bug Lincoln or he might make us eat gruel again. *stomach growl* Actually I'm hungry too Lincoln." Emerald tried to get her ginger friend to stop annoying the man taking care of them. At least until her own stomach growled loudly.

"I am hungry as well, Lincoln can we please get something to eat?" Ren looked up to big man with hungry eyes.

"I get that you all want to eat from a restaurant, but I'm kind of broke since you, little lady, ordered most of the entire stock of pancakes in the last restaurant we stopped in. So either quiet down and let me think, or it's more bird meat or gruel for breakfast." Lincoln retorted to their begging for food. Especially Nora's demand for more of her favorite meal of the day. The three children looked down at the ground in disappointment at their caretaker's refusal. But with that problem, came a solution in the forms of a local bounty board, and a few thugs walking into a bar. "perfect, now let's see what bounty work work they have around here." He said as he perused the board. Mistral was rife with wanted criminals to hunt down at the bidding of the kingdom's council, all open to any individual willing to take the challenge. Lincoln grabbed a poster from the board and smiled at the idea of an easy payday. Just as Lincoln was about to get moving again a stranger appeared from behind him.

"Are you Lincoln Clay?" the stranger asked as he revealed himself.

"Who wants to know?" Lincoln said as he reached for his knife.

"Answer the question." The stranger replied.

"Yes, I am." Lincoln replied suspiciously while clutching the sharp piece of metal that had seen him through many fights in Vietnam.

"Then come with me. Your children shall follow as well. I would advise against using your weapon mister Clay, I wouldn't want to disappoint my superior by taking unnecessary measures." The man in the hood warned Lincoln with a disturbingly calm demeanor. He and the children followed along quietly with them being slightly scared by the stranger. They proceeded into a secluded alley way that filled with a dark and foreboding atmosphere. Soon enough they reached the spot where the stranger wanted to speak. "now that we are in a more appropriate location, my goddess would like to have a word with you." The man said as he removed his hood to show the face of a slender man with mid length hair and gold eyes. A dark ominous portal then opened in front of Lincoln and the children, causing them to hide behind him in fear. The hardened veteran narrowed his eyes and scowled in preparation for whatever was to come next. A moment later a woman with white hair and ash pale skin stepped out from the portal. Her eyes were black and blood red, giving off a feeling of fear inducing malevolence in their crimson gaze.

"I have brought him here as you requested mistress Salem." Tyrian said as he bowed before the being of darkness.

"Good work Tyrian." The woman now known as Salem nodded to her servant.

"Thank you, my liege." The assassin said subserviently.

"Now you must be mister Clay. I have a job for you, in fact it's an offer you can't refuse." Salem spoke with a regal and eerily unnerving voice. Lincoln's frown deepened in suspicion as he reached for his pistol. "You seem to be quite capable and that interests me. Your children could benefit from this as well if you accept my offer."

"If I do refuse?" Lincoln growled at the dark witch and was reminded of the age old evil he'd eradicated in new bordeaux. The woman's very presence seemed to reek of pure evil.

"Then it would be such a waste of talent. But there are others here who could learn their place. Think of it, they'll never be hungry again, you shall receive power as your reward. All you need to do is serve me." Salem said calmly as she eyed the three children who froze with fear. Judt as Lincoln was bout tpo discharge his weapon a figure appeared on a nearby rooftop and fired a shot.

"Sorry lady, but he isn't buying whatever bullshit you're selling!" A snarky voice replied from the nearby rooftop. THere stood a man in full combat gear bearing a loaded sniper rifle in his hands. His blonde hair was well maintained in a smooth wave amd he had a cigarette in his mouth.

"You are not invited." She spat venomously at the interloper.

"Donovan?!" Lincoln shouted in surprise at the sight of his old war-buddy who'd helped him hunt down and kill Sal Marcano.

"In the flesh buddy! Now move your ass!" The jovial agent said as he fired his sniper rifle at the evil witch. She deflected the bullet with her magic and turned her gaze to Tyrian. Lincoln had already run off with the children in tow back to the nightcrawler.

"Kill the two men and bring back the children alive. Cinder will need playmates for her objective." Salem ordered to her personal assassin as she turned to the portal and made her back to the shadow world over where she ruled supreme.

"It shall be done." Tyrian said with a feverish smile. When Salem was gone, the grim followed Tyrian as he gave chase to Lincoln and his family. They ran for the safety of the car to escape the dark creatures. Just before the could reach the pickup the man known as Tyrian smiled his blood thirsty grin at Lincoln.

"It's pointless trying to fight human but go ahead and try, this will be so much fun. It's a shame I can't kill the little ones." The sadistic psychopath grinned to the hardened criminal.

"Fuck you! As long as I'm still kicking there's no way in hell you'll get within five feet you son of a bitch! Do you hear me I will rip you apart!" Lincoln roared as he drew his AR-15 rifle and emptied the magazine at his foe. Tyrian avoided the barrage of bullets with his agility and began trying to taunt the angered warfighter.

"I knew you'd say that! Oh I will enjoy ripping your tongue uo and force feeding it to you! HAHA!" The nimble scorpion faunus scoffed, dodging Lincoln's barrage and attempted to stab him with his tail. Lincoln barely avoided the poisonous limb and grabbed hold of it. Tyrian was visibly irritated by this turn of events and tried get his target off of the appendage. Lincoln yanked on it and brutally headbutted the bastard dazing him slightly. Lincoln then door kicked hios opponent and reached into his jacket revealing a frag grenade he'd saved for things like this.

"Eat this and die motherfucker!" The warfighter tossed the grenade at his assassin's feet and jumped behind cover as the explosive detonated. Tyrian was hurled through a solid brick wall by the blast. The assassin growled as he climbed out of the rubble to find himself under fire from Lincoln's AR-15. The rounds were hitting their target and causing minor damage but no penetration was occurring. Lincoln silently cursed to himself for not grabbing the M60 again like he should've, he could it was probably getting cobwebs by now. Tyrian had risent o his feet again and glared daggers at Lincoln who quickly reloaded his rifle for another bout int heir showdown. Tyrian cracked his neck and then decided to try screwing with his opponent's mind to throw him off even more.

"That grenade of yours actually hurt, but this'll hurt you even more! When I'm done I'll make sure those kids of yours have nightmares for the rest of their lives about how I disemboweled you in front of them!" Tyrian jumped at Lincoln, who ducked and threw him of with a roll. Lincoln ran at his foe and followed up with his fists dealing out a brutal series of punches and jabs. First up with a left cross, then aright jab, left haymaker even a kick in the side to accenuate the meaning of pain for the sick twisted bastard that threatened the lives of his loved 'd never let it happen again, he'd never let anyone break his family while he was still alive.

"Just shut your fucking mouth already you sick fucking asshole!" He finished up a combo with a heavy uppercut sending Tyrian flying for a few feet. The sadistic assassin recovered and rushed Lincoln with his wrist mounted blades. The Vietnam veteran felt time slow again and sidestepped Tyrian's stab. He then retaliated with the butt of his rifle, bashing tyrian in the face, causing it to briefly contort in pain. The Vietnam veteran slashed his enemy across the chest but was countered by the faster huntsman killer. The both of them crossed knife blades with neither side giving in. Lincoln doled out another headbutt, then gut punch, and kicked tyrian square in the balls like a boss. After screeching in severe pain, the now pissed off psychotic scorpion faunus jabbed Lincoln in the shoulder with one of his blades and twisted it with a smile. Lincoln grunted agonizingly in pain as Tyrian immobilized him.

"Aw does it hurt? That looks like it does. now what was that about ripping me apart?" The sadist grinned murderously. He then began to laugh at the injured Lincoln who could only writhe in agony. Nearby, the three children were sitting in the car watching their protector being defeated by the monster. Emerald scowled in anger and let go of her fear. She'd taken Lincoln's keys when he wasn't looking and jammed them into the ignition.

"What are you doing Emerald?" Ren asked curiously.

"Saving Lincoln! Ren grab the stick, Nora get on the pedals!"

"Okie dokie!" Nora said as she smacked her hands on the three pedals of the vehicle.

"Ren put the stick in gear while I steer, we're going in!" Emerald ordered to the boy in green. She then fired up the ignition and beeped the horn. Nora pressed the clutch and gas as per Emerald's orders while Ren shifted the gear stick into position. The nightcrawler's tires spun in a burnout before causing the truck to charge forward, straight at Tyrian. The assassin looked at the vehicle and dropped his target believing he'd be run over. But the children swerved the truck and came around again for another pass.

"Nice job you crazy kids." The sly agent said as he readied himself to take a shot. Donovan was on a nearby rooftop, aiming his rifle at the scorpion faunus. With a quick breath he steadied the high precision weapon and fired it, sending a bullet straight towards the man who'd harmed his friend. Tyrian's aura shattered as he felt the round go straight through, roaring in pain at the damage. Just then, the kids rammed into him and he was flung into a nearby store, destroying a large bin of vegetables and other assorted produce.

"Suck on that ya stupid dillweed!" Emerald shouted triumphantly at the downed Tyrian.

"I think we broke his legs!" Nora shouted with glee and high fived her step sister.

"Why do I have the feeling you're going to be saying that again later?" Ren said as he tilted his head.

"My cabbages!" The shopkeeper shouted in anguish. Tyrian was furious now and cleared himself of the vegetables covering him. He ran to stop Lincoln from escaping but the wounded warrior had climbed into the car with his children's help. The angry psycho roared in fury as his prey escaped to live another day. He then saw a bullhead fly over with a hook on its underside. The aircraft latched its hook onto the bed bar and the truck was pulled from the ground. Salem would be disappointed by his failure. Then the horrible pain set in and he finally realized his legs were broken, he then unceremoniously dropped to the ground and screamed in pain.

-END CHAPTER-


	5. Break on through

Atonement: Lincoln Clay

Episode 5: Break on through

* * *

[Review dude: He does have one or two, you'll find out who pretty soon. Not immediately, and you'll find out why now. Now pairing him with Sienna is certainly an interesting idea. She did appeal to me as quite ambitious and perhaps Lincoln could have her see the light or at least that not all humans are bad. As for steering the white fang away from the path of madness, well I'm not entirely sure on that.]

[Ronmr: Which part?]

[Guest 1: Good ol' Vito could appear later, as for cassandra though, not so much. Who's Tomas?]

[Guest 2: Not a bad idea, Her and Lincoln having a little cub together is certainly thought provoking.]

[Guest 3: Hopefully this is where you get some of the answers you're looking for, not all but perhaps some.]

[Disabled-doctor: Great, I must be doing a good job!]

[Ice: Thank you, and about that challenge, not right now. I have several stories to work on at the moment, so maybe way later.]

* * *

After they had safely reached Donovan's safe house, the now former CIA agent paid the mercenary who'd airlifted them to safety. The mercenary promptly flew away and the group proceeded inside of the compound that resembled an abandoned warehouse in the middle of the jungle. After that, he informed Lincoln of his arrival in this strange new world while tending to his wounds. The man had exposed a huge conspiracy behind the assassination of JFK including the senator at the hearing whom he shot. The whole incident was buried, and Donovan returned to the CIA to hunt down the traitors with the agency's blessing. After that whole ordeal was finished and so many bodies were buried, Donovan had impressed the right people and was sent to visit the ranch, AKA the legendary facility known as area 51. He'd been sent to remnant by a mysterious alien device they'd found in the jungle during their time in Vietnam and had been stranded here for months. He then brought Lincoln up to speed on the world of Remnant as he knew it so far, leaving the former soldier with so much new information to digest. He could swear it was just like they ended up in a comic book to which Donovan had to agree. The kids were eating what Donovan could provide, which happened to be a few boxes of cereal.

"So that's the long and short of it all. That glowing relic or whatever it is lights up and boom, I'm stuck here." Donovan said as he leaned against a wall with his arms crossed lazily.

"Alien tech, superpowers, kids who train to be legal superheroes…" Lincoln shook his head at the whole concept. "That does explain why my guns had barely any effect on that asshole with the tail. Not only am I using inferior ammo, he basically has a fucking forcefield." Lincoln was more than displeased to know that his trusted arsenal was useless without an upgrade.

"And bad guys who want to kill everybody including us. But as I explained, at least we know that aura stuff is vulnerable to dust ammo, and it can run out under repeated punishment. The regular rounds from back home won't do shit as you've already seen. But then again, the properties of a person's aura might vary, so there's no telling exactly how effective standard ammo will be on someone else. After all, I did use a standard round to punch through that psycho's aura after you put him through hell, not mention that grenade." Donovan then sat down backwards on a chair with hands across the backboard.

"That's still too unpredictable, someone can shrug off standard ammo from our world, but a grenade with regular powder and shrapnel in it works?" The war veteran said skeptically.

"Doesn't make too much sense to me either, besides I have been mainly fighting that guy you squared off with, so my experience on that little subject isn't exactly rock solid." Donovan admitted his lack of knowledge in the strangeness of the prospects of aura.

"So how long was I gone? Because there's no way all that shit happened in the past few days I've been here." Lincoln asked inquisitively.

The agent lazily shrugged in ignorance. "Best I figure, a few years give or take. you only popped up on my radar a few days ago when some settler passed on word of the guy who faced down Raven Branwen's bandits, and that word traveled fast. You are so fucking lucky, that crazy bitch is one of the fiercest bandit leaders on this side of the planet from what intel I've gathered on her. When I heard about it obviously our new friends did too. I bet time probably passes at the same rate in both worlds, so whatever dropped you here obviously sent you forward in time too. But as to how you got here, I have no fucking clue."

"Basically, it was an act of god." Lincoln summarized.

"That's one convenient way of putting something that can't be explained, on both counts. Don't you just love divine intervention? It was definitely more than coincidence that I found your ass when I did, because our friends back there are balls deep in some pretty nasty stuff." The sly CIA agent said in a snarky manner.

"So, do you have a plan?" Lincoln asked while checking his pistol and the moving on to his rifle.

Donovan stood up from the chair and pointed to a map of remnant. "I figure from here we torch this place, then head to Vale and do what we did in new Bordeaux. You the know the routine, recruit some like minded scumbags and push out the the ones who won't play ball. Obviously if we own the city it'll be harder for Salem and her crew to operate there. Or we can meet up with the other group who's been fighting these pricks."

"You forgot to cover those two people who tried to kill us by the way. Can't just go into this blind and I don't feel like getting my ass killed over something I didn't know when I needed to know it." Lincoln looked up from his weapons on the desk with a raised eyebrow.

"Got ya covered there pal." Donovan then handed Lincoln a dossier on his dance partner from the fight earlier. "Right, so this asshole who tried to turn you into a kabob is Tyrian Callows. A highly skilled killer, he worships that bitch like he's a member of a one-man cult and a huge sadist by nature. He's tough enough to murder skilled and fully trained huntsmen and huntresses by himself. So by all accounts, you put him through a kind of hell most opponents wouldn't." Donovan then pulled out a cigarette and took a puff. He handed Lincoln another dossier this time on the one who made him an offer, Salem. "Now this is his disturbing as fuck boss, miss voodoo herself, Salem. I have next to nothing on her so far other than that she is up to something big that involves destroying the academies and global extinction. These fuckers are a cancer we need to rip out, plain and simple. I have managed to uncover some intel that points to her flipping one of headmasters of the academies. It's either the one here in mistral or over in vacuo."

"So, Beacon and Atlas are uncompromised?" Lincoln asked as Donovan started packing up his gear in preparation to move out of the facility.

The sly agent set down a box of files and removed some intel from the board on the wall. "Pretty much, so that narrows it down to two academies and headmasters. When it comes to Beacon and Atlas, those two schools have gotten close recently despite the idiotic fact that their cultures are at odds. One is based in a borderline military dictatorship, the other one is in a country that sort of resembles back home when it comes to liberty and equality. Including, the problems that come before getting it for everyone, namely the rights of faunus. I know you know this, but I have to cover all the bases."

"You mentioned someone else taking these guys on, right? It'd be nice to know if it's just us or not. Because this is too much for even the two of us to handle alone."

"Yeah, just like back in nam, the enemy of my enemy. I remember when we trained the Hmong and turned them loose on the NVA. But anyway, get a load of this!" Donovan reminisced and then pointed to a high-tech communication set up across the room. Lincoln whistled at the setup and Donovan smugly grinned. "I've managed to pick up some chatter over the CCT network about a group fighting her in the shadows just like us. They've been trying to pin us down too since you popped up a few days ago. So far, I have no intel on whoever these cats are, but it looks like we have a common enemy. We'll know more once we get the fuck out of dodge. Because odds are ol' Salem will be sending some more of her goons or pet critters after us and I'm partial to living. No need to worry about real estate by the way, already have that covered with some more safehouses I've set up." The agent pointed to several dots on the map across remnant that marked multiple safehouses throughout the four kingdoms. "Business aside, you got some sweet kids there, where'd you dig 'em up?" Donovan asked his partner as the kids started tussling on the ground and doing some rough housing, with Nora ending up on top in victory. The little ginger started the she was the king of the castle while Emerald and Ren were groaning in defeat.

"Eh, nowhere special. They're orphans, just like I was when Sammy took me in." Lincoln said simply.

"So, what's it like being a single dad and having little headaches? I Bet girls are just screaming to get their hands all over you, lady killer." The sly agent teased his buddy.

"Oh, kiss my ass! let's just focus on saving the world again." Lincoln chuckled.

"Whatever you say partner." Donovan just shrugged with a sly grin on his face.

"It looks like we really have our work cut out for us this time." Lincoln stood and stretched, careful to avoid popping his stitches. He taken worse wounds than what Tyrian had inflicted on him, so it wasn't as big a deal for him as it would be for someone else.

"Fucking A right we do. Now help me set these explosives, I want to leave a little present for some party guests when they show up." The two warfighters then set to work cleaning up and prepping the building for demolition. The kids nearly caused an accident when Nora got a bit too curious about the things that go boom. Donovan patted her on the head and showed her a grenade launcher with Lincoln's permission. She had stars in her eyes when she saw it and then a sledgehammer fell right in front of her. She looked at the big hammer and then her toy, she put the toy hammer in the truck and picked up the industrial tool with a crazed smile as she went around smashing things. Donovan looked at Lincoln, and the single dad shook his head, there was no stopping the little ginger when she went on a rampage. Ren took an inquisitive look at Lincoln's 45 and the veteran introduced him to the fine workings of a firearm. The quiet boy seemed to feel comfortable holding the well-crafted piece of forged steel despite its weight. Emerald started trying to steal from the sly CIA agent, and she paid for it when he started stealing things back. Lincoln broke that up and the two adults got back to work setting up the demolitions gear.

"Before we call it for the night I should make a quick phone call." Donovan stretched after setting up the last bomb.

"To who?" Lincoln asked skeptically.

"You'll see in the morning." Donovan replied slyly.

Eventually everyone went to sleep, and Lincoln tucked the kids into the warm bed. He and Donovan had slept uncomfortably in chairs keeping watch over the door.

-THE NEXT MORNING-

The two men woke up and moved all the files into a crate, loading it into the night crawler bed alongside the gun crate. The agent pulled a sniper rifle out and loaded it with rounds as well as priming a detonator or two.

"So how long do you figure until they find this place?" Lincoln pulled the M60 from the weapons crate and loaded a belt of fire dust rounds Donovan had scrounged for a rainy day.

"That all depends on if a little theory of mine is correct." Donovan replied while lighting a cigarette. He was now perched in tree watching the are in front of the compound while Lincoln took up a defensive position with the M60. Then a loud roar sounded from the jungle as a pack of Grimm started flooding the area. "Yep, I was right!" Donovan fired a shot that tore through the neck of a beowolf and Lincoln unleashed his M60 on the beasts. The kids had hidden in the nightcrawler and were watching the two veteran warfighters take on the very beasts that plagued these lands. Lincoln side-stepped one beast that tried to take a bite out him and smacked it with but of the chain-gun. With a mighty roar, he then fired a burst into its gut, bathing himself in black blood. Donovan fired another shot killing a grim that tried to sneak up behind his partner. Lincoln turned around and fired a long burst of hellfire from the barrel of his weapon, ripping apart several Grimm.

A large ursa appeared and roared at Lincoln who just threw a bundle of C4 at it. The beast just looked at the block of clay before exploding and leaving nothing but bits that turned to ash. He turned his fire on a beowolf that ran for the truck and blew its head clean off with a burst from the massive gun. As another group of Grimm rushed into the area, Donovan set off some explosives he'd lain as a surprise. The monsters were blown sky high and body parts rained from the sky, dissolving as they fell. The children watched the retaliation with awe as the two men stood against the tide of darkness. Emerald grinned to herself as she remembered how Lincoln tore apart the Branwen tribe. Now that the experienced warfighter was well equipped the Grimm were getting their collective asses kicked. Nora cheered on the both of them as the battle continued and Grimm blood kept spattering on the paint of the truck. Lincoln threw a grenade and blew up a dust crate that had left as a trap. The grimm looked at the small explosive for a moment before hearing a small click, then boom!

The box exploded wiping out many of the despicable beasts in spectacular fashion. Lincoln took a breath and felt time slow down as he fired his weapon at the Grimm. In under a second he swung his M60's barrel in the direction of several Grimm who tried to go after Donovan. The rounds pierced the backs of their skulls and made their heads explode from the inside as the bullets bounced off their bone masks. Lincoln reloaded his weapon and thanked Donovan for his sharpshooting with a salute. More beasts streamed in for the surrounding forest and the battle raged on between man and dark beasts with neither side showing any signs of giving up. Lincoln's M60 was starting to run low on ammo so he threw it back into the truck and grabbed two AR-15s loaded with dust ammo. He dual wielded the rifles to great effect, even using them as melee weapons in CQB. when the situation called for it. He dove under an Ursa and fired both rifles on full auto mode into is belly, causing black blood to splatter all over him as the beast fell limp on the ground. A beowolf then tried to claw his back, only to get a face full bullets. More beasts began trying to rush him and die as they continued their bid to overpower him.

"Uh Lincoln we might have a problem. A huge bug problem." Donovan said as he spotted a giant scorpion creature that mowed down a large group of trees with its claws.

"Son of a bitch." Lincoln said as he eyed the massive creature of darkness while it charged forward. The beast screeched at the defenders with its natural deadly weapons raised. Lincoln stated firing on the creature and Donovan began detonating the buried bombs in rapid succession. The explosions were definitely doing some major damage to the monster's chitinous armor plating. Lincoln managed to obliterate it's eyes with sustained fire, causing it excruciating pain in the face. The almost blind giant scorpion almost managed to chop Lincoln in half with one of its pincers. Lincoln had just barely avoided the claw by the seat of his pants. But just as the monster was about to overwhelm them, air support had arrived in the form of the very same mercenary Donovan had called to help yesterday.

"Good to see you back, Sam!" Donovan shouted over his radio to the mercenary piloting the bullhead.

"I assume this is why you called me again." The mercenary said gruffly as he opened the bay of the aircraft and fired a rocket from he'd hauled out. The explosive impacted with the armor of the giant scorpion, dazing it. "Now hurry up and get on board, I'm a going to attract a lot attention and the last thing we need is a nevermore getting involved in this."

"Sam, you are a fucking hero! Now let's blow this dump!" The defenders moved their asses and boarded the aircraft with the children tow. The bullhead's hook lowered and latched on to the truck's bed bar again. The scorpion screeched in fury as the prey it had been sent to kill flew out of its reach.

"Say how would you like to see some fireworks kiddo?" Donovan asked the little ginger girl who was standing beside him and Lincoln while the other two were sitting down.

"Ooh really?!" Nora replied giddily as Donovan tossed the detonator up and down in his hands.

"Happy birthday squirt." He then handed the explosive detonator to Nora who smiled so widely from ear to ear like it actually was her birthday.

"Fire in the hole!" Nora shouted as she mashed the button. Ren and Emerald looked at each other worriedly at the sight of how scary happy Nora seemed to be with that detonator in her hands. With a click of a button, the entire base erupted into a huge ball of fire. Grimm parts scattered everywhere from the ones that weren't incinerated in the center of the blast.

"So, who's the guy flying this thing?" Lincoln asked as he sat down on one of the seats.

"That's Sam 'Samuel' Ortez, his handle as a vigilante is Locus. His past is about as bloody as our own." Donovan replied.

"We have to be in a comic book or something." Lincoln shook his head and Donovan merely shrugged.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't openly disclose my identity, agent Donovan." Samuel replied

"Locus, you can trust Lincoln." Donovan spoke coolly to the mercenary in the pilot's seat.

"All the same, please refrain from doing so in the future." The mercenary replied grouchily. The aircraft then set off through the skies, bound for the port of Vale. The pilot then radioed his contact in Vale. "Locus to Siris we are enroute to Vale."

-END CHAPTER-


	6. For what it's worth

Atonement: Lincoln Clay

Episode 6: For what it's worth

A/N: Okay so I know some people may not like this decision, but don't be mad please. I'm doing my best but I'm spreading myself too thin trying to write this, and Mad Max, as well as come up with ideas for my Zeta Gundam/Titanfall story. Unfortunately, this story will have to go on the back burner for a while until I can get back to it. So please don't get mad at me. I just can't keep up with it all right now.

* * *

[Review Dude: Yep, he is. I just felt like he would take a shine to her. That's hard to say how it would go with those two until I make it happen.]

[Ronmr: Thanks, yes Lincoln with aura would be akin to turning him into doomguy in my opinion. We'll just have to find out the answer to that later won't we? Yes that was both fun and cute, plus who better to teach them than a man with experience in such things than Lincoln Clay? :)]

[Ice: Your welcome.]

[Guest 1: Oh you meant Burke! You confused me when you forgot the H.]

[Javier The Wordsmith: Oh well thank you very much for your support dude.]

[Tauntsup3rs3t24: I'll explain that in due time man, have a little patience. Okay maybe a lot of patience. I will get there, but I want to flesh things out a bit before I do.]

[Guest 2: What Oz doesn't know won't hurt.]

* * *

-SEVERAL HOURS LATER: VALE HARBOR DISTRICT-

The group had been dropped off at the Vale docks by Locus who'd mentioned that he had other matters to attend to. Everyone bade farewell for now, and Donovan mentioned he might have a job for Locus later, to which he received a simple nod. They proceeded through the warehouse district until they reached a Bar that Donovan happened to take ownership of. Lincoln gave a skeptical look to the sly CIA agent who shrugged in response. The kids looked at the plain looking building with curious eyes as they observed its exterior. The place was concrete gray with a few windows and a blank white light up sign that hung near the door. Donovan unlocked the door and everyone proceeded in side except for Lincoln who hesitated for a moment at a flash of memories before shaking his head and walking inside.

"So, mi casa is su casa." Donovan gestured to the empty bar.

"*cough*This place is really dusty." Ren coughed as he inhaled some of the dust.

"Well I only recently bought this place and I figured I'd store most of my booze here, including my lucky bourbon." The agent joked as he and Lincoln made their way to a back room.

"Look, I'm a dust angel!" Nora shouted as she played in apparent pile of un-swept dirt on the floor in a corner.

"Nora please stop, you're getting dirt everywhere." Ren asked calmly.

"There's already dirt everywhere." Nora pointed out the fact that most of the bar area itself was covered in loose dirt.

"He means you're getting dirt all over us doofus." Emerald said in an annoyed tone.

"I'm not a doofus, you are!" The hyper ginger said while she pointed at the minty haired pickpocket.

"I know you are but what am I?" Emerald retorted in an attempt to silence her fellow orphan.

"Doofus, Doofus, you're a big doodie eating doofus!" Nora didn't give in like Emerald had hoped and launched an insult offensive.

"Shut up!" Emerald growled fiercely.

The insult broadsides continued for several minutes until Ren decided the time had come to put a stop to it for their own good. Getting in between them, he placed fingers on both sets of their lips and shushed them. "Before this gets any further, do you both want to make Lincoln mad again?" He asked as he tilted his head towards the back room.

Taking a moment to consider their options, both girls deflated and relented. "NO."

"Good." Ren said in his calm voice as the apparent one of reason between the three of them. The children found various ways to entertain themselves while they waited for Lincoln and Donovan to come back. The boy in the green jacket kept both girls in line as they did their own thing. Being slightly curious himself, Ren walked over to the counter and climbed up top to get a broader view of the room. The bar's layout was fairly simple as there were a few tables scattered around with their chairs flipped upside down. The walls had a cream-colored paint and needed to be cleaned like many other things in the place. He then spotted Nora and Emerald messing with a broom and dust pan. Shaking his head in grief, the boy went over to convince them to help him tidy up a bit.

-MEANWHILE-

"Alright so let's layout the town before we get to the pros and cons. Then it's decision making time." Donovan said as he set up a map with pins of interest. The agent then pointed to a pin near the heart of the city. "First up, this is signal academy, basically it's the local huntsman high school. The official term is combat school, but it might as well be a high school. We need to avoid this place; the teachers are huntsmen/huntresses and they will react if we don't." He then pointed his hand to another pin near the ocean. "Next up we have the dockyards/warehouse district. We're right here just inside the district, we can set up as a legit business front and get plenty of income from the local dock workers. Believe it or not, there's not too much competition in this town when it comes to slinging liquor especially in these parts. The only other watering holes I've been to are a night club in downtown and a place called the crow bar."

"That's not a bad idea, the revenue from the bar would cover up any kickback we receive. Plus, there's also a drink around whenever we need to get wasted. Not to mention the fact we'll need legit funds for groceries in case our efforts run into some problems, considering I've got kids to support now." Lincoln said as he crossed his arms while he sat down in a chair.

"My thoughts exactly amigo. Those little tykes even save us a buck on taxes, not to mention I've taken a shine to little hyper out there. She kind of makes me wish I had my own kids." The CIA agent took a drag on a cigarette.

"I knew you would get along with her. Here I used to think you were a heartless bastard." Lincoln chuckled at his friend's affinity with the little ginger.

"What can I say, becoming a father figure changes your perspective on things." Donovan jokingly shrugged as he leaned back in his own chair.

"Amen." The former soldier agreed.

"You know, I bet the padre would be proud of you for doing that, giving them a place to call home." Donovan remembered the priest's disdain for him and the kind nature of the man.

"I'm not sure what he'd think. Looking back on it all, we did some messed up shit back then. Since this is a fresh start, part of me wants consider this a chance to make up for it all. Do some good for a change." Lincoln sighed and took a more serious tone as he thought back to his life as an almost ruthless killer.

"Well that's why there's option 2. From the chatter I picked up, these guys we might want to work with are on the 'right side' of the law." Donovan stood up and patted Lincoln on the back.

"So, it's either a choice of remaining lawless or going back to being lawful." The larger man turned his head to the agent.

"That's the size of it, not to mention we'll be going against huntsmen and huntresses if any of them catch wind of us. Once we make that choice, there's no going back." Donovan warned his parent in crime of the consequences of their choice.

"If memory serves, they have more freedom to investigate than cops." Lincoln recalled his friend's description of the local heroes for hire.

"Yep, when they catch a criminal, odds are they will go to jail. Back to the board, there's also the transit hub, residential sector, slums, uptown, and downtown. There's even another industrial district with a rail yard at the center of it that connects to tracks that run across the continent to Vacuo and a few other major towns." The agent then got back to pointing at the board, pointing out several strategic locations on the map of Vale.

"What's this place over here?" Lincoln pointed to a location on the map that was covered in lines. The term dead zone was stamped across it in large bright red letters

"That my friend, is a failed expansion to the city known as mountain glen. It's what happens when the Grimm get riled up enough. When the place was overrun, people hid in the subway tunnels below. But it turns out there were more of the bastards in the caverns surrounding the tunnels. Total bloodbath, no survivors to speak of. It's risky, but if we have no other choice, it'd be a great place to hideout and lose the heat if we have to torch this site too. No one goes out there unless they absolutely have to, and in force, otherwise the Grimm will toss them right out." Donovan explained the dark and foreboding nature of the abandoned dead zone that had once been an ambitious plan.

"It's a ghost town basically." Lincoln summarized his partner's explanation.

"Yep, the slaughter was 100 times worse than the battle of Hue city." The agent referred to their time in-country during the war's Tet offensive at its height.

"I remember that, we even ran into some SOG guys back there." Lincoln recalled his encounter with members of the elite MACVSOG program.

"Mason, Woods, and Bowman. Their operation was nuts and that's just from the heavily classified shit I could dig up before we did our thing in new Bordeaux. Far as I could tell, the handler for it all was a guy at the company I knew, Jason Hudson, a real ice cube. He served in Korea and the senior spooks offered him a job opportunity. But all that history is moot at this point since we're here and not there." Donovan revealed the small amount of info he'd dug up on the whole black operation in his spare time.

"Either way, we should get back to the matter at hand." Lincoln returned to the more important subject that was the decision to choose to be on the side of orderly chaos, or chaotic good.

"Right, so how are we gonna play this?" Donovan deferred his judgment to the man of action, who put a hand to his chin in thought. For several minutes Lincoln was silent as he sat down and considered the severity of both choices. He knew this was his chance for redemption, it was all up to him to take it or waste it.

Finally coming to a decision then former military man went for a more pragmatic approach. "We need to plan this out carefully, because if we make contact with that group you mentioned, we'll be on the map."

"True, cause right now we're off the grid. If we contact them we might as well be telegraphing our presence." Donovan agreed with Lincoln's reasoning on the matter.

"Yeah, like you said, if we join them we'll be playing by the rules again…" Lincoln trailed off recalling his partner's thoughts on the matter.

"If we don't, we can throw out the rule book and rally the lawless around us. But then again, we'll be facing guys with aura and semblances, and we both know how that turned out when you faced off with Tyrian. Not to mention the fact we'll face off with Locus, and I'd say you two are both capable one-man armies. So yeah, we may want to avoid his bad side. I know if you did have aura you'd have kicked seven shades of shit out of that twisted bastard Tyrian." Donovan gave his opinion on the battle between the assassin and one-man army. It was fairly obvious that Lincoln would've won if the playing field were on level ground.

"You're going to have to tell me more about him some time. But that aside, how we do even do it? Turn on our auras." Lincoln asked curiously.

"All in good time buddy, he's told me a few things here and there, but right now we have more important issues to focus on. Okay from what I've heard, we can get it activated if we run into someone who has it, and they're willing to help us turn it on. But the major thing is that we're from another dimension, so I don't know if we even have a chance of getting it to begin with. As the old saying goes, nothing ventured…" The sly CIA agent coolly told his partner in crime to wait for an explanation on the local mercenary/vigilante. He then crossed his arms after dropping his cigarette into an ash tray trailing off his rundown on aura.

"Nothing gained." Lincoln finished.

"Exactly." Donovan then took a swig from a nearby bottle of bourbon and offered some to Lincoln. The larger man accepted the drink and they downed their glasses of alcohol. "Now it's decision time Lincoln. Good or bad, I'm with you to the end of the line brother, that's a promise."

"Let's make a phone call then." Lincoln gulped down some more bourbon.

"You absolutely sure?" Donovan asked for confirmation.

"Positive. Besides, who says we can't get some loot in the process?" Lincoln teased the idea of a ton of loot.

"I love the way you think, if you're thinking what I'm thinking." The sly agent started to grin at the idea of riches, or more accurately, the spoils of gangland warfare.

"Kill bad guys and jack their shit, then sell or use it for ourselves. If this whole thing falls through, we can always go back to plan A and run this town. It'll just be rougher than the first time around." Lincoln confirmed his friend suspicions.

"Definitely liking that plan." Donovan then fired up his comms terminal and contacted the man on the other side of the line.

-BEACON ACADEMY: OZPIN'S TOWER-

The wise headmaster was overlooking his school with a tired look. He'd lived many lives and made more mistakes than anyone who'd ever lived in the world of remnant. The existence he led was more than fulfilling, but it had ground him down throughout the many ages of his reincarnations. As he was continuing to ponder the choices of his life, the desk began to ring. Unknown caller appeared where there would normally be a caller ID. Usually he never received calls of that nature unless it was from his associate Qrow. But he knew the dusty bird had reported in recently and usually goes silent for extended periods. After a moment of waiting, the very old professor walked over to the desk and pressed the answer option.

"Hello?" The wise headmaster asked as the call went through.

"If this is who I think it is, we might want to have a friendly chat with each other. Otherwise if it's not, then don't yank my chain and just hang up." A snarky voice replied over the phone that wasn't who he was expecting.

"That depends on what you want to discuss." Ozpin tried to be cryptic as usual.

"Hey, pay a-fucking-ttention, I said 'no' chain yanking bullshit on your end. Do you want to talk business or not?" The snarky voice clearly wasn't in the mood for such tactics. Seeing no other alternative, the wise headmaster of Beacon decided to try the more diplomatic route.

"Very well then, this is professor Ozpin, I am the current headmaster of Beacon huntsmen academy. Now may I know as to whom I am speaking with?" The professor said in a calm tone befitting his demeanor.

"Finally, now was that so hard? You can just call me Doe for now." The man now known as Donovan replied.

"Very well mister Doe, what did you want to discuss?" Ozpin asked the mystery man on the other end of the conversation.

"Oh, just a little something along the lines of a pretty nasty witch problem. Not to mention some serious animal control, if you catch my drift." Donovan spoke in code that Ozpin understood all too well.

"Then you have called the right person for such matters. I believe we may have much to discuss." The wise headmaster said with a smile on his face.

-END CHAPTER-


	7. Said a Joker to the Theif

Atonement: Lincoln Clay

Episode 7: Said a Joker to the Thief

A/N: Sorry if the quality in anyway is lacking, writer's block is putting the squeeze on me big time.

* * *

[Guest 1: Sort of.]

[Ronmr: Thanks and now I just have to make it interesting.]

[Disabled-doctor: Thanks dude.]

[Unitedluck: Yeah, that was a mistake on my part that I have rectified. But he has had time to build a reputation...]

[Guest: I agree with you, I love the idea of turning Cinder's own strategy against her. So maybe Oz will Ok it, or Lincoln might not care and do it anyway.]

[Mr. Readmore: Thank you so much, I was actually drawing a blank on that! I salute you Mr. Readmore!]

[Pitsacee: Thanks man.]

* * *

-VALE WAREHOUSE DISTRICT: EVENING: 2 DAYS LATER-

Ozpin had arrived at the meeting spot at a small commercial square in the warehouse district of Vale. The area had a few small shops including a cafe that happened to be open late. A normal looking delivery van was parked nearby, opposite the café and a beefy pickup truck was parked in front of the shop. The wise headmaster of beacon approached the shop to see a large man sitting at a table in the back of the café reading a newspaper. A familiar dust covered crow perched itself on a small tree near the shop's door. It cawed watchfully as the older gentleman, who gave the bird a reassuring look, walked inside. He approached the man reading the paper and fondly thought to himself about how old-fashioned some people could be. Even with advancement of technology across remnant thanks to dust, some old methods refused to go out of style. The man turned his newspaper to the next page and the waitress, a bear faunus girl, walked over to the table. She set down a cup of joe and winked to the man who was reading. He looked to her with a thankful smile and handed her a lien card which she promptly had scanned for payment. After that she went back behind the counter and gave another interested glance at the man with his newspaper. Lincoln noticed something about the girl who'd given him the coffee and figured she must be related to the shop girl from mistral. He heard the sound of footsteps coming closer to his table and looked over to see an older man sit down at the same table.

"Is that today's edition of the Vale Tribune? It's a pleasant surprise to see someone still reading print rather than watching a holographic screen, a television, or a scroll." Ozpin commented on the sight of the paper and the modern conveniences that were taking its place.

"Yeah, it is. Lots of crazy things going down these days too. The way I see it, too much technology can be a crutch and a curse so I tend to stick with what feels right. It just so happens that old-fashioned newspaper feels right." The man leaned back in his chair and took a swig from the mug the girl had brought him.

"This is certainly a quaint little shop wouldn't you agree? The coffee must be nice." Ozpin said in a relaxed tone as he sat down at the table.

"It's a good brew and the place is simple enough for my tastes to enjoy." The man in the other seat said coolly.

"I assume you're the mysterious mister 'stone' I was told to meet." The veteran huntsman calmly addressed the man hidden behind the newspaper.

"That all depends on why you're here. For all you know I could be just some random guy minding his own business." The stranger retorted in a cool manner as he flipped to the next page of his paper.

"I could say the same about you. But I digress, I'm here to discuss a mutual problem we have with a third party."

"Then I am, the real name's Lincoln Clay." Lincoln put his paper down and looked his potential ally in the eye with a welcoming look on his face.

"Professor Ozpin, it's a pleasure to meet you mister Clay." Ozpin offered his hand to Lincoln.

"Just call me Lincoln. Now, let's get down to business, you and I have a witch problem that's needs to be solved. She's a tumor and her pets are a cancer." The former crime-lord/US ARMY soldier shook the headmaster's hand and got right to business.

"Certainly, to say she is a handful already is an understatement and your assistance in dealing with her would be much appreciated." Ozpin stated the severity of the problem and thanked Lincoln.

"I have my own reasons for wanting her gone, one ultimately being necessity. She needs to go simple as that." The soldier waved his hand dismissively.

"If you are the same Lincoln Clay who dealt with the Branwen tribe recently, then ran into our mutual foe in Mistral, I certainly understand your other reasons." The wise headmaster told Lincoln what he knew of him so far.

"Tell me what you think they are then, if you know me as well as you say you do." Lincoln challenged Ozpin's intel as he took a drink from the mug he'd been brought.

"Three children were spotted traveling with you and I know about the tavern you own." Ozpin revealed his current knowledge and signaled to the waitress to bring him a cup of coffee.

"You do your homework." Lincoln was slightly impressed by the headmaster's knowledge.

"I have my ways, I didn't get to my position without being clever. Not to mention it's all part of running a school that trains young warriors and defending the world at large. Also, you don't cover your tracks as well as you think you do and you haven't exactly been keeping a low profile either. I will admit though, you certainly made it difficult. There's still so much about you that I have yet to find out, including how you came to be in Vale." Ozpin clearly explained how he knew what he knew so far.

"Until you earn my trust, you never will. At this point, I'm just a concerned citizen and that's all you really need to know about me." Lincoln retorted bluntly.

"You have a right to be with our shared enemy beating at the gates and from what my sources tell me, she threatened your adopted children right in front of you. In your case, I know personal when I see it." The wise headmaster of beacon told the former crime boss what he could see about Lincoln's case from what he knew.

"Close enough, it was a sick psycho who works for her that directly threatened them. Suffice it to say, you know I have a score to settle, so either help me or get the fuck out of my way." Lincoln growled with his fists balling in rage at the thought of Tyrian Callows threatening the three kids he'd adopted.

"I apologize if I've hit a nerve Lincoln." Ozpin noticed Lincoln's fury and attempted to defuse it.

"*sigh*It's fine, so are we together on this or what?" The former soldier took a breath and looked to his prospective new associate in the witch hunt.

"I'd say this is the beginning of a healthy alliance." Ozpin smiled.

"Glad to hear it, I'll be in touch. The coffee is on me, enjoy it." Lincoln said as he got up, set down a lien card, and walked out of the shop. He hopped into the nightcrawler and drove back to the bar. Ozpin finished the coffee Lincoln had purchased for him, enjoying every sip, and eventually left as well. The crow that had perched itself on the tree branch flew away in the direction of the academy. Soon enough the van started up and drove away in the direction of the bar as well.

-THE BAR-

The three children had been given beds to sleep in on the second floor and were peacefully dreaming. Things had been definitely looking up for them with Lincoln as their legal guardian taking care of them. Nora was dreaming to herself of explosives and sweets all thanks to her uncle Donovan. Ren though was simply happy to be alive and slept peacefully alongside the two girls with his bed in between theirs to separate them and prevent arguing which occurred regularly over the past two days. They were going to start elementary school soon thanks to Lincoln's insistence that they do so. Secretly it was to keep them safer and out of harm's way, despite Lincoln being harm's way, while bettering themselves and following the local laws. With Donovan's help, the adoption papers had been expedited since he knew someone in the government who owed him a favor. With that done, it was guaranteed that only in the most severe of circumstances would the children be torn away. If it hadn't been handled in that manner they'd have been dropped into the system, collected by Vale's child services, then sent to an orphanage right off the bat like most other children in their shoes. They knew enough to count their blessings with Lincoln and Donovan protecting them.

The two vehicles that had been outside the cafe reached a garage space behind the bar and pulled in. Lincoln hopped out of the cab of the nightcrawler pinched the bridge of his nose. "How did that guy find out about this place?" He asked Donovan who'd closed the door of the van.

"Beats me, I'm just as surprised as you are. I know no one followed me here in the past, and the only time he mentioned me back there is what I told him to call me." Donovan referenced the recordings he had from the whole meeting.

"Something tells me we have a lot figure out about our new friend." The former soldier shook his head in frustration.

"Yeah he seems off to me. I'll do some more digging when I can. In the meantime, we have some more work to do. I know we're doing things the legit way for now, but it wouldn't hurt to lay the ground work for us to take the city. So, let's hit the back room and I'll give you a dossier I've prepared on a new target." The former CIA operative walked to the door that lead into the bar's interior.

"Sounds good." Lincoln said as he followed Donovan and the two of them went to their back room to do more planning. After taking seats in their respective chairs the two began conversing on the latest info he'd dug up.

"Okay so this is one 'Hei Xiong' but he goes by the handle 'Junior'. He runs the nightclub in downtown Vale. The local scumbags know him as an information broker and he might be one of the ways our new friend found our humble abode. If you want to know what goes on in this town, he's the man to talk to. From what recon I did on the place, he's got his fair share of goons to keep things under control and they serve as enforcers if he loans them out. From his buried police file, he's a member of the Xiong crime family from Mistral. They've got a long history back on their home turf though. He seems like the kind of guy they wanted gone but didn't want to kill, so they must've have put him to work here." Donovan gave his partner the rundown on a possible member of their next crime family.

"Basically, he's their underworld ambassador to Vale." Lincoln coolly surmised.

"Yep, but that's all I've got for now. I say get some sleep, we'll work on it more in the morning." The sly agent started packing it in for the night.

"Alright then, *sigh*." Lincoln breathed as he faced the prospect of another nightmare as usual. It was one of the few things he hard a hard time getting used and probably never would.

"Still dealing with the nightmares?" Donovan asked out of concern for his partner's mind.

"How could you tell?" Lincoln looked to his partner for an explanation.

"You don't make it easy buddy, but I've had my suspicions and I can see it. Plus, you gave just gave it away big time with your reaction when I mentioned sleep." Donovan said with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

"You're an asshole." Lincoln shook his head with a smile.

"Eh, I call it as I see it." Donovan shrugged and put out the dying cigarette bud in an ashtray. On that note the two men went to bed for the night.

-ONE WEEK LATER-

Things had gone on smoothly for the most part aside from several bar fights Lincoln had to resolve. The kids had really been enjoying playing in nearby dirt lot where no one seemed to bother them. Of course Donovan being the watchful uncle figure he is, always made sure to keep a watchful eye on them. Today though, the former CIA agent was manning the bar for Lincoln who'd stepped out to clear his head. He'd known his partner needed it for awhile and was more than happy to run the shop. As he was wiping counter and the kids were inside playing an arcade game he'd gotten his hands on. A few minutes later he was taking stock of the booze on the shelves. While he busied himself with the chore, a new patron walked into the bar, he wore a grey vest, white shirt, cape, black pants and reeked of alcohol.

"Hey bartender, what's the strongest you got?" Qrow called over to Donovan who was taking inventory.

"Welcome to Sammy's bar and grill, we've got white lightning pal, 20 lien a bottle." Donovan said while he was facing towards the rack of liquor and away from Qrow.

"Never had that before, sounds good. Put me down for a few." Qrow said coolly as he set a card on the counter and plopped down onto a stool.

"Well what can I say? We've got the finest shine in town..." Donovan grabbed the bottles and was about to set them down on the counter until he saw who was sitting at the bar. At that moment it finally made sense why Ozpin knew about their home. 'What the fuck?' he mentally cursed.

"What, I got something on my face?" Qrow asked as Donovan quickly chilled out and put on his game face.

"Qrow Branwen, former member of team STRQ, and teacher at signal academy right?" The sly agent said with a relaxed grin of confidence and set the bottles down.

"How'd you-?" Qrow was surprised at the man's knowledge of him.

"Eh, a little birdie told me I'd see you sooner or later. So what's brings you my way" Donovan shrugged and cracked wise at the patron.

"Haha, bird joke. Well if you really want to know, figured I'd meet ya myself." Qrow laughed sarcastically and took a drink, crossing his arms afterwards.

"Cut the bullshit pal. I know about you taking orders from the wonderful wizard who tuns Beacon. You're how he found out about this place, and by extension me working with Lincoln. You did that for him by following one of us back here somehow. All he had to do was put two and two together, there's a lot I can learn in a week." Donovan deadpanned as he pulled out his lighter and lit a cigarette. He puffed the calming stick cloth and offered one to his patron. Qrow just held up a bottle and shook it, politely refusing.

"The rumors told me you don't play around, when one Mistral's best bounty hunters uproots to Vale, well people talk... especially scumbags your name scares."

"I put that gig behind me for now, besides there's a few other players I'm working with that you probably know. See that board back there and you'll know if you don't already." Donovan shrugged and pointed to the bounty board.

"Eh I do, Locus and Siris. Those two are pretty good at what they do. Of course so are you and your buddy Lincoln if you can take on Tyrian. The truth is, OZ figured you could use some extra fire power, aura specifically."

-END CHAPTER-


	8. Ain't Exactly Clear

Atonement: Lincoln Clay

Episode 8: Ain't Exactly Clear

A/N: Sorry for taking so long everyone but I hope this chapter makes up for it. I apologize for making it filler but with how things are going its getting harder to write especially since my job eats my time and sucks out my soul. I do want to ask you all one important question that I need feedback on. I am thinking about the story's direction and I know some fans want me to take this on a certain route. In short, should Lincoln become a somewhat benevolent yet feared mob boss or loosely follow the teachings of Father James and become the Remnant equivalent of 'The Equalizer' with a slightly rebellious side to atone for his sins (old habits can die hard)? To quote **Arthur Morgan** from **RDR2** : **"You can't be two people at once..."** Of course there may be a way I can bridge the two so that one leads to the other, but I really don't know, and I've heard some outstanding ideas from fans of this story about the former option, but it was not originally the direction I thought of taking. So my dear readers I ask your advice, **Redemption or Rule**?

 **Keep in mind it's my decision and I only ask for input.**

* * *

[Disabled Doctor: Thank you so much.]

[Wombag1786: It is but I've had time to think about what I should do and I guess I'm lost.]

[Review dude: Yeah things are getting heavy and thanks for the encouragement. I love the idea of yours man.]

[Sam hill: Could happen but it's really stretching the divine intervention angle.]

[Guest 1: Glad to hear it.]

[Guest 2: I'll try to pump out more chapters man! :)

[Gamelover41592: I will put out more when I can.

* * *

The discussion lasted for a short time longer and ended with Lincoln and Donovan agreeing with the idea. The two of them did need all the assets they could get their hands on in this strange new world, and superpowers would play no small part in their endeavors. Qrow said that he and his boss would keep in touch with them, and the bird himself would be a regular customer, neither Donovan or Lincoln objected to those actions. The two men watched the huntsman leave the bar with a drunk stumble and then looked to each other with nods of agreement. They both knew they were in the middle of something big and now they were stuck with Qrow hanging around their place from now on. It would be some time before they would have a meeting with Oz again though but they weren't in a rush.

-2 WEEKS LATER-

The former CIA agent saw a few more customers come and go from the establishment while he and Qrow had their talk. The three kids were still playing the arcade game and Ren was in the zone skillfully tapping the buttons, winning the fight. He used a combo move and won the boss fight with Nora and Emerald cheering at his victory. Emerald then stepped up to the machine and cracked her knuckles to mash the buttons. Nora quickly got bored though and started playing outside with the sledgehammer her uncle Donovan had provided for her. The former agent looked outside to see the girl breaking rocks and assorted junk like they were dirt clods and tin cans.

"Little carrot top over there, she's obviously quite a handful." Qrow noted how destructive the hyper little ginger seemed to be.

"What can I say? She has a thing for smashing." Donovan said as he coolly puffed a cigarette in his mouth while cleaning a beer stein.

"You know if you and Lincoln are interested, Oz and I might be able to get those little tykes into Signal when they're old enough." Qrow grinned as he took a swig from a hard liquor bottle Donovan had sold him.

"Actually, I was already considering that." The sly operative replied as he rinsed out a beer stein.

"Oh really?" Qrow raised an eyebrow.

"They're fighters alright, I know it when I see it. Those three over there are gonna be something when they grow up, so come hell or high-water Lincoln and I had better send them somewhere that'll help them get that future." He said with a calm yet determined look before realizing his own actions. "Look at me, talking like some kind of mister mom." Donovan stuck a hand to his forehead in embarrassment with a smile on his face.

"Ha! You know now that I think about it, maybe my nieces could come over sometime, Ruby and Yang need to make some friends after all." The dusty bird brought up the two girls who he held so dearly.

"Eh, this isn't a daycare but what the hell, bring them by whenever you feel like it." Donovan shrugged in agreement.

"I'll tell that to their mom and dad then." Qrow said as he twisted his back with a loud satisfying pop. "Another thing, why do you call this place Sammy's anyway?" He asked with the bottle still firmly in his hand.

"That's a long story friend and frankly not mine to tell." The sly operative said as he set down the stein with an audible clink on the bar counter.

"Let me guess, it's Lincoln's and its personal." Qrow said as he tilted his head.

"Exactly." Donovan said firmly.

-MEANWHILE OUTSIDE-

"Alright, y'all got everything you need?" Lincoln asked his three foster kids while they all stood outside in front of the bar waiting the bus.

"Yes, Lincoln for the hundredth time, we got it all." Emerald sassed him.

"Then all of you keep yourselves out of trouble, especially you Nora." Lincoln pointed squarely at the ginger girl.

"Okey dokey Lincoln, BYE!" Nora said happily as she, Ren, and Emerald approached the school bus when it had stopped.

"Make some friends out there and stay safe!" Lincoln watched as the three children boarded the school bus to the local elementary school. The three of the walked the aisle until they spotted a group of empty seats. Occupying the seats in front of theirs were two other little girls, one in a yellow T-shirt with a black flame on it and beige shorts with brown high-top shoes and long golden hair, the other was dressed in a black sweater with a red hood and cape with a red skirt and black boots and had short black hair with red highlights.

Without any thinking at all, Nora stuck her head over the seat and grinned. "HI I'M NORA!" She shouted to the two other girls.

"Nora don't do that." Ren said calmly and pulled her back in to the seat.

"Yeah, you make us look weird carrot-head." Emerald

"Aw come on Ren, and don't poke fun at me mint-chip!" Nora cutely puffed up her cheeks in displeasure at being yanked back down and snapped at the minty-haired girl.

"That was one time-!" Emerald groaned in annoyance.

"Both of you stop it, now." Ren silenced the argument.

"Fine!" Both girls said in unison.

"Sorry about them, my name is Lie Ren, that is Emerald, and as you already know she is Nora." The boy in the green jacket formally introduced himself and his foster siblings to the red and yellow girls.

"I'm Yang, this is my cute baby sister Ruby!" The yellow themed girl now known as Yang yelled happily, introducing herself and her sister.

"YAAANG!" The little red hooded girl moaned in annoyance.

-2 HOURS LATER-

Lincoln casually drove along through the city of Vale in his pickup to clear his head. The drive through the metropolis reminded him somewhat of New Bordeaux's downtown district. Though the city lacked any true resemblance to his home except for some slums he'd stumble across, hidden in various places. Poverty, now that was a word that really held weight with Lincoln. He recalled what little Sammy had done for the people of the Del Ray Hollow. He always reasoned to himself that Sammy did the best he could, after all he still answered to Marcano before that fateful night. A part Lincoln's soul couldn't help but sympathize with the faunus and how they reacted to being treated like lesser beings, animals and freaks. He knew that once he took control of city, things were going to change for them if he had any say in it. It would be the least he could do for the faunus, as he knew exactly what racism felt like in its entirety and something had to be done.

As he came to a stop at a red light, he noticed a group of faunus protestors marching at a courthouse. The group of protestors was heavily surrounded by riot geared VPD officers who seemed twitchy from what Lincoln could see of their movements. Lincoln saw the light turn green and heavy drove on for a short distance before parking and watching the protest unfold. As he exited the pickup and he couldn't help but notice that news reporters had even shown up to broadcast the whole ordeal to the viewing world. He watched the whole event slowly start to turn violent as a man walked down the steps, escorted by a team of bodyguards in white suits. The protestors booed and shouted curse words at the executive as he nonchalantly walked down the courthouse steps.

Lincoln eyed the corporate executive and his security detail with a great interest. From what it seemed, he'd just found a lead on a big score if he played it right. Besides, from how the protestors were on the verge of causing a riot, he obviously deserved to be robbed and Lincoln could use the money. It was the perfect setup for a textbook heist if the master criminal ever saw one. Lincoln noted the SDC logo on the side of the limo that the executive stepped and watched it drive off down the street. Without any hesitation Lincoln hopped into the pickup and fired up the engine of the nightcrawler. He put the vehicle in drive and pulled out of the parking space, drove to the next intersection and pulled a U-turn.

The former soldier smoothly tailed the vehicle until it passed by a large and very professional looking bank that held the title 'MISTRAL BANKING CO.' in larg. Lincoln parked in an alley nearby and watched as the limo parked next to the bank and the man who'd left the court house walked inside with a briefcase that was handcuffed to his wrist. After a few minutes of gauging the bank's defenses and its foot traffic Lincoln spotted the man getting back into the limo. He just needed to bring this intel back to Donovan for confirmation and then they could better case the location for a possible score.

-5 HOURS LATER-

Lincoln had been driving around for a while to throw off any suspicion that he might've garnered and continued thinking to himself all the while. Eventually after having picked up some groceries along the way, he pulled to a stop outside the bar and then parked the car in the garage. Lincoln stepped back into the bar with the groceries to see the kids playing with two little girls he'd never seen before. Just as he was about to say something he was interrupted by Donovan.

"Hey Lincoln, what took ya so long buddy?" Donovan said as he had a drink with Qrow.

"Yeah, me and Donovan were just talking about you." Qrow said casually as he took a swig from his mug.

"I'd like to point out, Qrow, that was hours ago." Donovan held up a finger.

"I was out running errands as you can see. Oh before I forget, we have to talk." Lincoln answered the original question and then pointed to Donovan.

"No problem, when Qrow takes the kids home we'll get to it." Donovan said as he relaxed at the bar with his drinking buddy/Ozpin's watch-bird.

"Great. Who are those two by the way?" Lincoln replied and then pointed at the two unfamiliar children.

"The two tykes playing with our own little tax write-offs are Qrow's nieces." Donovan said with a slight grin and gestured to Qrow who couldn't hide his own sense of pride.

"Hi papa Lincoln!" Nora said as she zoomed away from the group of her fellow rug rats. Emerald and Ren were right behind her as she dashed over to greet the man she and her fellow kids called a stepdad.

"Hey Nora! So did you kids have a good day at school?" Lincoln said as he hefted the hyper ginger onto his shoulders.

"It was so boooooorrrrrring but then we had recess and played with our new friends!" Nora said over dramatically as she piggy backed on Lincoln's shoulders.

"I'll bet." Lincoln said with a smile as he gazed up at the hyper active ginger.

"Yeah, these two are alright." Emerald said as she pointed a thumb at Ruby and Yang.

"I agree." Ren said nonchalantly.

"You all stayed out of trouble, right?" Lincoln said to all three children.

"Yes sir!" The three kids said without missing a beat.

"I mean it. I'm not going to be getting any calls from your principal, am I?" Lincoln eyed two of his foster kids suspiciously and then looked up at Nora.

"No sir!" The trio shouted in unison.

"Good job, I guess you three definitely earned this then." Lincoln said as he revealed a bucket of ice cream he'd bought from the store. All the kids in the bar lit up with big smiles at the delicious treat Lincoln held in his hands.

"Your dad is awesome!" Yang shouted as she charged at Lincoln. Two of the other three toppled him over and grabbed at the ice cream bucket. Nora then got into a tugging match with Yang over who would get first dibs while Donovan and Qrow couldn't stop laughing hysterically.

"What's the matter Lincoln, can't handle a few kids?" Donovan said in between his laughing.

"That's what you get for showing a bunch of super kids treats!" Qrow said mockingly. Lincoln sat up and shook his head while he saw the group of children dig into the bucket except for Ruby and Ren who walked over to him.

"Are you okay mister?" Ruby said sweetly.

"I'm fine kid." Lincoln said as he dusted himself off and stood up.

"Okay, can I have some ice cream too please?" Ruby asked nicely.

"I would like to as well Lincoln." Ren joined her in being good.

"Alright, but grab a plate and spoon first. That goes for all of you!" Lincoln said calmly to the two well-behaved children and then bellowed his order to the others.

"Oops heh, heh." Nora said sheepishly as she and Yang stopped fighting over the bucket of goodness. "I think we're in trouble." Nora whispered to Yang, who shoved the bucket over to her.

After a collective sorry was given, the kids received the ice cream and dug into it with big smiles. The three men shared beers together and talked until it was time for Qrow to take the two girls home to patch. The group of kids said their goodbyes and Lincoln sent his three foster kids to bed for the night after they did their homework.

-A FEW MINUTES LATER-

"So that's what I have. What do you think?" Lincoln said as he looked to Donovan for advice.

"Mistral Banking is a fortress, and its obviously well guarded considering the fact of how much cash and gold bullion may be in the vaults. So yeah it's a big take but we don't have the man power to pull it off between the two of us. The SDC stakes in there alone are huge, it'd just be a pinprick to them if we do hit it though." Donovan replied as he lit a cigarette and smoked it.

"Then we need a crew." Lincoln said as he leaned back in a chair.

"That could take a while until I can scare up some talent and besides, the minute we do it we might run into Locus and Cyrus…" Donovan hadn't forgotten

"Or Ozpin and Qrow, all of which could trace it back to us." Lincoln said as frowned in thought.

"Exactly, I'm with you all the way but we don't fuck over people we work with. That's what Sal did." Donovan lazily pointed a finger at his partner.

"You're right we aren't like Sal. But if we do then we have to hit it fast before they know it was us." Lincoln said coolly.

"We can do it but it'll have to wait. I do wonder though if we really should run this town. Besides that was just plan B." Donovan said in deep thought.

"Don't tell me you're getting cold feet now." Lincoln raised an eyebrow.

"Not at all, just taking stock of what we've got you know. I mean the guys we're working with want us on the straight and narrow. So we have got to be careful is all I'm saying." Donovan said as puffed the cigarette.

"Right, I do have kids to think about." Lincoln thought to himself about what Father James would say.

"Yep, now let's get some shut eye." Donovan finished and the two men went to bed.

-END CHAPTER-


	9. Rolling Stone

Atonement: Lincoln Clay

Episode 9: Rolling Stone

A/N: Sorry I missed Christmas guys but here's another chapter. I don't know if did this right but please don't flame me if I did. Also, I'm thinking about putting up a Halo crossover and I figured I'd mention it, but the keyword is 'thinking', not entirely sure what I will cross it with yet if I do it. An RDR2/RWBY Crossover is also possible but I make no promises. Oh and what would you all think if I found a way to bring in Enzo somehow? To be clear though, I have not yet decided on a route for this story.

* * *

[Gamelover41592: Thanks, I hope you like this chapter.]

[Pyrogreninja: Thank you for your support and I'll consider RDR2/RWBY crossover.]

[march4fun: Glad to hear it, I'll try to put more light moments with the kids later on.]

[Wombag1786: I hear ya man, and sure I'll see what I can do about a badass flamethrower scene!]

[Disabled-doctor: Thanks.]

[Review Dude: Aw thanks, and I think I may have read it. I will do my best to finish the stories I'm working on, although new ones may pop up in due time.]

[Reads to much: Hmm, you've got a point there dude. that's 1 for a partial Rule]

[Guest 1: Glad to hear you're happy man. I'll try to keep it coming.]

[Wolf: Yeah, I hear ya. that's 1 for redemption.]

[buzzsaw935: Now that's 2 for rule.]

[Guest 2: That's 2 for redemption then, and I might do one.]

[Sam hill: Yeah now that's 3 for redemption!]

[Guest 3: Here's to redemption 4!]

[Eye: I might, and this is Redemption vote 5.]

[Guest 4: Lincoln and Sienna might fall in love, I just have to find out how and even if I can make it work.]

[Guest 5: I watched the episode and Those gods are horrible for what they did to Salem and Oz. If anything the creation god could've at least offered her an alternative and all the madness would've been prevented. I don't remember her needing to destroyed but there is another option, she just needs to disappear.]

[Guest 6: That's rule vote 3.]

[Big Benjamin: That's redemption vote 6! Hmm, good ideas, and having Jack in love with Yang sounds great.]

[IAmPedobear: Thanks man, and I've actually been thinking the same thing. It'd be way beyond interesting to see how it unfolds when they get wind of what Lincoln has done behind their backs. I promise I will try to keep this story alive.]

* * *

-2 DAYS LATER-

The night sky of vale was filled with light pollution from the rest of city, obscuring all but the brightest stars. Cars were driving along the highways in in their usual late-night rush traffic to reach whatever destination the drivers of said cars had to arrive at. in the streets below those highways, people were out doing their business, with the occasional shady character passing by or a drunken man or woman stumbling out of a bar. So far it seemed like just another night in the kingdom's capitol city, and a decent night of business for one Hei 'junior' Xiong. The shady nightclub owner was minding his own business and tending to his bar as he normally would, watching the patrons either dance to the thumping music or drown their sorrows in liquor.

Just as the man was about to serve another drink, a new patron strolled into his club. The man had a dark complexion a, military style haircut, green jacket, and blue jeans from what Junior could see. As a somewhat experienced criminal Junior knew enough to keep his eye dangerous people like the new patron. As he cleaned a glass, the man in the green jacket approached the counter with a military swagger in his step. Within a few second the man had sat down, and signaled to junior that he wanted a drink. Without missing a beat, the bartending info broker promptly moved over to serve him a glass of liquor.

"What'll you have pal?" Junior asked as he polished a glass.

"Whiskey, on the rocks." Lincoln answered the bartender. "You the guy who runs this place?" he asked, looking the bartender directly in the eyes.

"Here you go, and I am." The bartender replied as he slid Lincoln the drink.

Without any hesitation Lincoln downed the shot alcohol and then set the cup down on the counter. "I'll make it simple I need some intel and word on the street is you tend to hear things, I've also got a business proposition for you." The soldier relayed a half truth of his intentions for being in the club.

"Hold on a minute, if you want to talk business, then follow me. Oh, and what you want to know probably won't be cheap buddy." Junior said cautiously as he stepped away from the counter and signaled for one of his men to take over the counter.

"We'll see about that." The man replies coolly as he follows junior to a VIP room. After a minute or two of walking the two men reached the room and Lincoln went in first. The veteran knew he could handle whatever his mark was going throw at him, and to refuse any offered drinks in case of poison. He smirked to himself as he recalled how Donovan spiked the funeral party's wine with military grade LSD. Of course, he had a feeling what Junior probably used would most likely be far less psychedelic. Lincoln casually sat down on one side of the booth and Junior on other, both of them having concealed weapons just in case.

"So what do you want to know?" Junior asked coolly and leaned back in his seat to relax.

"I want to hit Mistral banking, and I figured you might know someone inside who wants to get paid." Lincoln casually explained to the local info broker. "I also want anything you can get me on a Tyrian Callows, as well as any associates."

"We all want to get paid buddy, it just depends on how much is involved. I mean that's a big job, lot of risks involved." Junior rubbed his fingers together in an effort to put emphasis on the cost. "But sure, I can get you want you want to know about this guy and anybody he runs with. It'll take a few days though to get my sources out there. Of course I want the standard fee for my valuable services."

"Can't say exactly until I know the full score, but it's a big take. If I had to give a rough guess, 40k." Lincoln replied. "And here's your pay for the intel." He then slid a stack of lien cards that he'd earned from a few underground boxing matches over to Junior. The info broker checked the cards with a machine to see if they were legit or fakes. The device beeped positively and the info broker grinned coolly at having received his payment.

"I'll ask around then, but I think I know a guy who needs to pay a few bills." Junior said coolly.

"Hold on a minute, there's another thing I wanted to discuss." Lincoln raised a hand.

"Oh?" Junior raised an eyebrow curiously.

"A partnership." Lincoln said with a serious look on his face.

"Heh, and why would I do that tough guy? I'm mostly independent." Junior chuckled insultingly despite the intense situation he was now in.

"I know you've got ambitions Junior, and if we come to an understanding here there's a piece of my operation that'll need a man to run it." Lincoln tried to ignore his prospective employee's abrasive behavior and crossed his arms.

"Me, running a part of a big operation?" Junior said with a cautious look. "I just sling drinks and share what I hear." He waved his hand dismissively.

"I found out how your family treats you, all they need to see is what you can do with some help they won't give you." Lincoln added in an effort to persuade the man and avoid any unwanted trouble.

"You want to help me?" Junior asked suspiciously and leaned a bit closer.

"I figure it's mutually beneficial for the both of us, and you can't deny that they won't let you prove yourself." Lincoln explained and reminded the Xiong mobster of his low level status.

"Let's say I was interested in what you're building, how do I know I can trust you? Trust is what matters in this life, and most can only trust what's in their wallet." Junior retorted cautiously, bringing up an unspoken code between skilled criminals. He knew all too well that without trust business was far less profitable.

"That's a fair question, but what if I told you there was someone out there who wanted you and everyone else in the city dead." Lincoln threw in the reality of a growing crisis that would strike the city in due time. "Now you and I both know something like that is very bad for business."

"I'd say that's not really anything new. Someone is always going to want someone else dead. Hell the grimm are always going to try eating everyone in sight." Junior said as he reached for his concealed weapon.

"Well I want to take a hold over this city to keep it safe from the ones who want it to burn, and bring down the grimm while I'm at it. So at this point you have a choice, either join up with me and get paid, or get the fuck out of my way. Of course that doesn't mean we won't see each other later, probably as enemies." Lincoln stated with an eerily calm tone that made Junior feel a chill in his spine that this guy wasn't someone to fuck with.

"So I either work for you or pack up shop?" Junior was visibly shaken by Lincoln's warning.

"That's the size of it." Lincoln answered with an intense look on his face. "Now choose, the money or a bullet."

"I'm not an idiot, I know you fought the Branwens and almost took on their queen. Fine I'm in." Junior growled disdainfully and crossed his arms.

"I knew you'd see it my way, just remember who's in charge." Lincoln smirked and moved to stand up.

"We'll see about that." Junior reached for a pistol he'd hidden.

"I'd think twice before pulling that gun of yours by the way, it won't end well for, I guarantee it." The former soldier snarled, having paid attention to the info broker's subtle movements.

"Tell you what, you kick my ass, and we have a deal." Junior said as he pulled out a pistol and started firing at Lincoln. The veteran predicted his opponent's shots and sidestepped the line of fire. He then spun around and whipped out his M1911, firing it rapidly at junior's hand to knock away the broker's gun. The bar owner yelped in pain as the gun flew out of his hand and froze as Lincoln's intimidating form closed in on him. In seconds Lincoln had started pummeling the man who had stupidly challenged him to a fight. The soldier picked up Junior and threw him at a thin wall, causing a huge hole to be punched in it. Coughing roughly, Junior stood back up with a slight stumble only for Lincoln to shoulder charge him and slam against another wall. The experienced info broker managed to land a punch to Lincoln's face but it seemed to have little effect. Junior slammed his knee against Lincoln's torso and managed to force him back slightly but that seemed to make him angrier.

Junior ran forward and tried to hit Lincoln with some hand to hand moves but he soon found out that the big brute was not only persuasive, but a really skilled boxer too. Lincoln slapped away a high kick with his bare fists and then blocked straight punch. As an act of retaliation Lincoln started throwing a series of rapid straight forward jabs to Junior's face and chest. The info broker managed to block at least one and smacked Lincoln's jaw. It made Lincoln grunt in pain but he just continued his assault, throwing another jab, following with a right cross and left hook. Lincoln then rammed his fist into junior face again, breaking his nose and causing a tooth or two to fall out. The info broker then spat some blood in the veteran's face out of spite, making him remember another brief moment from New Bordeaux. After gritting his teeth and holding himself back from killing Junior, Lincoln let the battered man slink to the floor. He then decided to hammer his point home and picked up a chair, bashing it on his opponent's skull. Junior groaned in pain as he felt his bones crack from the severe beating he was taking at Lincoln's hands. The veteran war fighter stood over him and then kneeled down, grabbing the Xiong family mobster by the back of his head. With amount a second of hesitation Lincoln began smashing Junior's face against the floor repeatedly until it looked like the fight had been knocked out of him.

"Are you done?" Lincoln asked the severely beaten bar owner.

"Yeah whatever you say… boss." Junior groaned in pain.

"Good, I'll be in touch. Make sure you tell your folks not to retaliate, we're associates now and the last thing this city needs is a turf war between us." The newly crowned boss ordered to his subordinate.

"Right, sure." Junior replied as a tooth fell out of his bloody mouth. On that note Lincoln walked toward the club's exit with Donovan waiting for him, several knocked out thugs being barely visible in a nearby booth. Lincoln raised an eyebrow and Donovan shrugged with a grin at what he'd done to keep some extra trouble off of his friend's back. What was lucky is that they had managed to keep damage to a minimum and even avoid alerting the patrons to the disturbance. All in all, the work they'd done that evening had been very productive for their future operations. The both of them then returned to their own bar to rest for the night and continue working on more plans to set in motion for their efforts to take over the city. As the two of them drove home, Lincoln couldn't help but feel grateful that Qrow had gotten his friend to look after the kids for the night. He knew the drunken bird was probably suspicious of why Lincoln had asked for that favor so Lincoln gave him a believable half-truth such as gathering intel.

Once they returned to the bar the both of them got their guns and headed to a local shooting range for some practice and relaxation. The range just so happened to be owned by a local entrepreneur with a shady reputation. The two of had been debating for a while whether or not to give the place a try, and they did agree that it was more responsible than getting drunk. They parked the pickup out front and pulled out their weapons from duffle bags in the cab. Above the seemingly inconspicuous store was a large sign that read in animated letters 'Kincaid's Guns and Supplies'. The two men looked at each other for a brief moment before walking into the storefront. A guy was trying to haggle with the shopkeeper who didn't seem to be really listening to his customer.

"Can I have a refund for this gun it doesn't seem to work." The customer replied in a suspiciously shaky voice as he looked from side to side.

"Hmm, I don't know…" The owner said as he inspected the customer's revolver. Suddenly without any warning he cocked back the hammer and fired the weapon at the scammer's foot. The guy squealed in pain as he held his leg and rolled on the ground in excruciating pain. "No refunds, now get out." The shopkeeper said bluntly. He then emptied the cylinder and tossed the gun at the writhing man before turning his attention to Lincoln and Donovan. "Ah welcome to my humble shop gentleman, my name is Marcus Kincaid. Can I interest you in anything today? Perhaps you might like a quality firearm from my stock."

"We're Just here to use the range pal. Although we might be interested in some ammo, provided you don't shoot us with it." Donovan said coolly to the store owner, following with a snide remark.

"If you're referring to him, he's tried to scam me out of money several times before and he has a record, so I'd say he should get the hint now." Marcus pointed at the squealing scammer. "But sure go ahead use the range, that will be 20 lien for both of you." He then gestured to the range and stuck his hand out for the fee.

"Fair enough pal." Donovan said as he handed Marcus a lien card.

"Thanks and be sure to support your local store." The shopkeeper grinned and buzzed open the range door for them. With that over the two men went inside and began shooting at the various targets as they popped up.

"Hey Lincoln, bet you can't hit as many as me!" Donovan fired his M1911 at a target, getting a bullseye. "That's 1!"

"Oh you're on!" Lincoln shouted as he started rapidly firing his own pistol down range and grinned at his own feat of accuracy. "That's 2!" He shot back, and just like that the two of them went at it for two hours in good gun toting fun.

-END CHAPTER-


	10. Man of Wealth and Taste

Atonement: Lincoln Clay

Episode 10: Man of Wealth and Taste

A/N: Sorry for the delay folks, life has been crazy for me recently, and I've had a bad case of writer's block. Please forgive me if this chapter isn't as good as usual. Oh and BTW, if I do make a RDR/RWBY Crossover, who would be up for Yang or Ruby X Jack Marston? Not saying I will write the story yet, I still have to come up with how they get there if I do decide on doing it, and also I know there are people who would want Ruby X Oscar. That said I'm open for suggestions about a pairing for Jack if I do it, after all the Marston family tree could use a few more branches and I'd like your thoughts on that. If any artists reading this story are interested, It'd be cool to see that illustrated by more than just the words of this humble author if anyone out there would be inspired to do so. Oh and what would anyone think if I gave 4 good ol boys from across gaming some cameos (possibly as a group) in this story?: Ellis (L4D), Hurk and or Sharky (FC), and Scooter (Borderlands). It's just a thought though that I wanted to get out of my head and run by all of you for your 2 cents. If you want a possible cameo I'd be happy to consider it, just PM me or leave it in the reviews.

* * *

[Gamelover41592: Thanks, and it fits the vibe man. There's nothing like a big score to put things in perspective. After all, sometimes it's 'All About The Benjamins'.]

[Wombag1786: Right you are man! Merry late Xmas, and Happy Valentine's day!]

[Guest: I was considering that. I'll have to play the game again when I have time so I can get a feel for those two again, but a bit of romance should be good. I have been wondering what Morgan's kids would look like if he ever had the chance to truly settle down.]

[RogueShadow222: Thanks, I've been heavily considering Lincoln and Sienna Khan falling in love, the possible chemistry there makes it an attractive choice. But no on Emerald falling for him, he sees her as a daughter and that's the way it should stay. As for Raven, I'm not sure but she did threaten to kill him so... that's possible but unlikely. Though I will say that if enough other readers are interested there may be a brief fling, but true romance between them is another story altogether considering the way she is.]

[Wolf: Thank you, it really is a great game.]

[Arthur Morgan: Well pardner, it could happen, but saving miss Rose? We gotta round up a posse and find out what really happened to her first, if there's anythin out there that'll tell us.]

* * *

-DREAMSCAPE-

Darkness, that was what greeted Lincoln after he had gone down for another night of troubled sleep. The former soldier had briefly tossed and turned, trying to make himself comfortable in his bed, eventually his efforts were successful and he began to drift off to rest like any other night. But soon enough, Lincoln found himself stirring from his slumber to hear the sounds of a radio playing music, and the uncomfortable feeling of his face resting on a countertop. At his noticing of the unexpected sensations Lincoln jolted up right and frantically looked to uncover his new surroundings. What met Lincoln's eyes was the sight of his old home in New Bordeaux, the original Sammy's Bar, just as if it had never been burned down. Though what truly surprised the soldier was the sight of none other than Sal Marcano standing behind the counter, pouring a glass of Kentucky Bourbon.

"Well I'll be damned, Lincoln Clay… I told our last meeting wouldn't be the last time we saw each other." Sal said as he placed a hand on the counter and smiled casually at Lincoln.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Lincoln snarled as he directly into the eyes of the former boss of the once powerful Marcano crime family.

"Oh, calm down son, I'm just as surprised as you are by this little meeting of ours." Sal said in a civil tone.

"So, this is in my head then?" Lincoln surmised as he made himself comfortable on his barstool.

"Now I wouldn't say that, but who knows, maybe you are going crazy." Sal began to deliver his retort. "I could just be another nightmare to shrug off, or maybe I'm here for a reason."

"You shouldn't be here at all." Lincoln replied with a growing amount of hostility.

"And yet I am, just like you in this whole new world where you went and stuck your nose in." Sal coolly shot back.

"I'm doing what I can to protect my family." The former soldier gruffly replied.

"Is that right? Well it seems to me that you have an interesting way of doing it then, because that's leading down a dangerous road. You know in fact I had similar reasons for making my choices-" Sal started to say but Lincoln cut him off.

"To betray and murder my step family?" Lincoln interrupted the calm and collected don.

"Yes, and just like me you're building an empire instead of stealing it like last time." Sal replied in annoyance at the younger man's interruption.

"I'm nothing like you." Lincoln said in a spiteful tone.

"Tell yourself that, go right ahead. But that's a flat out lie, and you know it." Sal grinned in superiority at Lincoln's denial.

"Fuck you." Lincoln said in a cold voice. "I sent you to burn in hell where you belong."

"If I should be in hell, then why in god's name am I here?" The old don said with a confident look on his face.

"To annoy me?" Lincoln deadpanned.

"Now where did you get that idea?" Sal scoffed at Lincoln's sarcasm. "I think it's fair bit more serious than that, boy." The old don then took a drink of alcohol from the glass he'd poured. "Ah, nothing like a good bourbon to relax the mind."

"I prefer shine myself." The soldier said coolly.

"Yes, I believe you had told me that the last time we met." Sal recalled his final moments of life.

"And then I threw you out a window of your own fucking casino." Lincoln added with his own proud tone.

"You did…" The don's expression darkened. "…and let me tell me you something, Lincoln Clay." Sal dropped his pleasant southern gentleman demeanor and spat Lincoln's name with pure venom in his tone. "You'll never be rid of me that easily. With every choice you make that's another step closer to the line you can never uncross. Tell yourself it's for a good reason, like getting justice or protecting your new little family. Go on and set up your little white picket fence and live in a house with snot nosed little brats, but if you keep on, I won't be far behind to collect my due."

"That day will be a long off if I have anything to say about it, you fucking asshole." Lincoln snarled.

"Ha, everyone dies eventually Lincoln. It's a rule of nature, nobody outruns their fate, I learned that the lesson hard way when you killed me." The elderly don sighed with a measure of sadness at his failures. "I planned, I schemed, and I fought, until my family and I owned the whole damned city… but here I am, in the afterlife waiting for fate to give my payback to you as you did to me, it's a principal part of life." Sal grinned as the words of his own new philosophy were spelled out for Lincoln to hear.

"Well that's not my destiny." The former soldier shook his head. "Besides you turned on Sammy, if you hadn't done that, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I wouldn't have had to kill you."

"I said the exact same thing to myself once about destiny, and now here I am, talking to you again all civil like. You seem to believe that you'll go to heaven-" Sal snorted with his superiority still evident but Lincoln cut his speech short.

"I've done bad things in my life that I'm in no way proud of, and seen the kind of depraved shit that would've made a lesser man like you question your sanity, but I accept that. Make no mistake, I don't have any naïve illusions on that front that I'll see myself among angels when my time comes. When the bill comes due and I have to pay it, I know I won't go to heaven but at least I'll have done enough good to give my kids a better a tomorrow. If and when god eventually deems it my time to be struck down, then I'll accept it. But until that day comes, I will not stop fighting for a better future for my family, and I'll die for them if it comes to that."

"Strong words, but I guess we'll find out if you really have the drive to back them up, won't we?" Sal said as he began to fade away. "Mark my words Lincoln, the bill always comes due."

-LINCOLN'S ROOM-

Lincoln woke up in a cold sweat and breathed rapidly as he opened his eyes. The former soldier put a hand to his face and massaged his temples, he then took a deep breath and calmed himself down. With a brief look at the clock, revealing that it was early enough for Lincoln to comfortably get up, he left his bed and walked over to the bathroom. He looked in the mirror to see his own face, which was not pretty considering his most recent lack of a good night's sleep. Brushing that aside, he began to shave his face to maintain his usual clean look. As he did so a creaking noise echoed behind him, he immediately dropped the razor and whipped around to face the presence in the hall.

"Lincoln, I had a bad dream." Emerald said as she stood there in the hallway with her toy bear in hand.

"Alright, come here." He signaled to the little minty haired girl with a quick tilt of his head. The child nodded and briskly walked over to him for comfort. She then began to hug him as he knelt down to greet her for the morning. "You're okay, I'm here. Now do you want to tell me what happened?" He asked in a calm voice.

"I saw this… big monster. It was a grim, but like a big lizard with wings." Emerald said as she shivered in her protector's arms.

"A lizard? You mean a dragon?" Lincoln asked as he held his adopted daughter.

"Yeah." She replied in a frightened tone.

He then took on a softer look and stroked her minty green hair. "What did it do?" Lincoln asked in a soothing tone.

"It was hurting people, destroying a big castle, along with a bunch more monsters." The scared child started to hyperventilate in fear.

"It won't get you while I'm around, I promise. I know you're tougher than this, Emerald. When you get bigger, you'll be able to fight a bunch monsters without me, I know it." The proud stepfather said firmly with a hand on Emerald's shoulder.

"But-" Emerald started to reply.

"I want you to listen to me, don't be scared, even when things are the worst, you gotta be brave no matter what. Now repeat after me, no big monster is gonna get the best of me. Say it." He said in a proud tone to the girl as she looked him dead in the eyes.

"Okay, no big monster gonna get the best of me." Emerald echoed her stepfather's words, obviously lack confidence.

"Say it again, but with a smile this time. C'mon, I know you Em, you don't have a scared bone in your body." Lincoln encouraged her to dig deep for her strength.

Emerald closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She then opened them and began to speak with a determined look on her face. "No big monster is gonna get the best of me!"

Lincoln nodded with a with a very proud smile. "Atta girl. Now do you want hot chocolate, bacon, eggs, and pancakes?"

"You mean it?!" Emerald's eyes lit up.

Lincoln chuckled in response. "Yeah, let me get dressed and cleaned up first. Okay?"

"YAY." The minty haired child almost shouted in joy.

"Shh." He shushed the girl and then gestured to the children's room.

"Whoops. Teehee." The little girl giggled, to which Lincoln just shook his head and smiled.

-1 HOUR LATER-

After Lincoln had finished his routine and Emerald had done hers, the former soldier began cooking breakfast. Eventually Nora and Ren woke to the rousing smell of a delicious breakfast, both of them looking at each other and nodding in agreement. They dressed themselves and then Nora bolted to the kitchen to catch the meal of the morning, with Ren following closely behind her. Upon reaching the table both children saw Emerald sitting on the counter, swinging her legs and smiling with her usual cheeky grin as Lincoln stood beside her, cooking the food.

"Morning you two." Emerald said coolly to her fellow children.

"Good morning!" Nora shouted cheerfully in response.

"Yes, good morning Emerald, Lincoln." Ren said as he looked to his foster sister.

"Alright food's almost ready kids, have a seat at the table, I already poured hot chocolate for the three of you." The former soldier informed the children, and they did as they were told. Nora was about to ask her famous question but Lincoln beat her to the punch. "Before you ask, Nora your pancakes are coming right up, but go easy on the syrup. The kind you really like isn't cheap." Lincoln said to the ginger who sported a ravenous grin and licked her chops. Ren's eyes darted between her and a single invisible point in the room. After taking a breath to relax, Ren curiously looked around the kitchen but one person was missing.

"Lincoln, where is mister Donovan?" The young boy pointed out he lack of a certain sly agent.

"Yeah, where is Uncle Donny, papa Lincoln?" Nora asked as Lincoln dumped the stack of hot fluffy cakes on the ginger's plate.

In response to their inquiries the back door opened and Donovan strolled right inside. "Hey everybody! Breakfast looks good." He smiled to the kids and his partner.

"Where were you?" Lincoln asked as he flipped a scrambled egg in the pan.

"I was out late last night, had to clear my head. Ended up being more productive than I thought." The Agent replied as he sat down at the table and lit a cigarette.

"What was so productive about last night?" The inquisitive mob boss said as he set the cooked egg down on Emerald's plate.

"To make a long story short, you and I are off to see the wonderful wizard of Oz after breakfast. After a short chat with our drinking pal Qrow, he had a talk with Oz. Suffice it to say he agreed to a meeting at the school."

"Face to face?" The mobster stopped to look at his partner questioningly.

"Yeah, we finally get our aura lessons." Donovan folded his arms confidently, with a smirk on his face.

After a sigh and brief moment of thoughtful silence, Lincoln smirked nonchalantly. "Heh, took long enough." He then sat down after having finished cooking the meal.

-1 HOUR LATER: BEACON ACADEMY GROUNDS-

Once breakfast was over, and then children had gone off to school for the day, the two former military men boarded a bullhead that was bound for the school so they could discuss a few things with Oz. As the vehicle approached the prestigious academy, Lincoln felt a foreboding sensation in his bones. The academy soon came into view and, needless to say, it left him with a mix of thoughts. Lincoln recalled Emerald's dream, the dots began to slightly connect and the picture they partially formed explained his uneasiness. But the other part of the dream wasn't there, the grim dragon. Given his experience with the occult, Lincoln didn't rule out the possibility that there was to his step daughter's dream than a simple nightmare. Donovan noticed his partner's expression and waved a hand in front of his face.

"Hey Lincoln, what's the problem pal?" The agent asked in a concerned tone for his friend's wellbeing.

"Eh, just a feeling." Lincoln replied.

"Relax, I'm pretty sure we won't have to shoot our way out, for now." Donovan tried to ease his friend's possible concerns.

"That's not it, granted we are headed into the wolf's den so to speak."

"Then what's on your mind?"

"If it's important I'll tell you later."

"Fine by me." Donovan shrugged. The ride continued in silence until they eventually landed at the academy pads, and waiting patiently at the base of the steps was the headmaster himself. Standing beside the wise headmaster was his lovely trusted female assistant, who held a riding crop in one hand and a tablet in the other. Slowly walking up behind them was the drunken huntsman himself, sporting a liquor fueled grin. The blonde assistant shook her head disapprovingly as she scrunched her face at the man's alcohol odor. Both men turned to each other for a brief moment and then looked at the headmaster as they approached him.

"Oh heeeey guys, top o the morning!" Qrow said with a slur.

"Gentlemen, it's good to see you. As Qrow had informed me last night, we have much to discuss. I trust your flight was relaxing." Ozpin greeted the two men.

"This is a nice place, definitely liking the vibes." Donovan remarked.

"What made you clear you schedule for us?" Lincoln asked in his business tone.

"Thank you for the compliment mister Donovan, I heard quite a fair bit about you. As for your question mister Clay, my previous appointment cancelled, so besides my usual paper work my schedule for today is clear. Now come with me please, we have to go to my office for our discussion." Ozpin replied and then led the way to the front doors of the academy.


	11. White room

Atonement: Lincoln Clay

Episode 11: White Room

A/N: Sorry if this chapter is a bit boring, I'm trying my best but life and inspiration are hard to keep up with.

* * *

[Wombag1786: You're right man, thanks for the advice. Ooh choosing who to pair up with Jack to keep the Marston line going is harder than it seems, I mean that in a good way.]

[Gamelover41592: Yeah, even in death Sal will always be a scumbag. You're about to find out.]

[Disabled- doctor: I'll try my best man.]

[Sam Hill: I can respect that, still it's so hard to choose. And I've been considering that, them being native to Remnant, I think I could do it.]

[Guest 1: I really am thinking about it, though I've got so many projects right now. I want to do it. Now them being rivals with Raven could be done, Micah leaving before the gang collapses though is another story, not saying no though.]

[eye: Well maybe she can or maybe it was a one time thing.]

[Review dude: That's a good question.]

[Guest 2: I want to do the crossover. That would be nice for the gang but I'm not sure if it's possible.]

[Guest 3: Yes.]

* * *

-OZPIN'S TOWER-

The three hunters and two concerned citizens had finally arrived in the headmaster's office. Lincoln for the most part kept his silence at the sight of the grand simplicity of the clockwork Ozpin had chosen. Ozpin gestured for the two mafiosos to sit in chairs he'd set up for them, and not wanting to be rude they did so. Lincoln had to admit it was a pretty comfy chair that the headmaster had chosen, and Donovan agreed. Once the pleasantries were out of the way Donovan decided to get right down to business.

"So, how's this going to work out?" Donovan asked as he sat back in the chair.

"I'm glad you ask mister Donovan, well Qrow can spare the time to tutor the both of you." Ozpin replied, looking over his shoulder to the experienced drunken scythe wielder.

"Hey, why me?" The dusty old crow griped.

"You are the one currently taking a break from teaching, except for your nieces. As far as I am aware you have nothing else to do." Ozpin said in a matter of fact tone.

"Those two are different Ozzy, they're family." Qrow replied stubbornly.

"Look Qrow, buddy, we're just two friends asking for a favor-." Donovan started to say but was interrupted by Lincoln.

"I get you want to stick to training your family, and that's fine by me. But just doing what little it takes to get us started will be enough. That's all you have to do, if anything we can find someone else to get us the rest of the way or figure it out for ourselves." The former soldier said in a calm and understanding tone.

"That won't be necessary mister Clay." Ozpin interjected.

"Call me Lincoln." The mob boss corrected his associate.

"Lincoln, what we teach here at Beacon, handling aura among other things, is not something that can be easily self-taught. It requires a skilled instructor to learn such things, I am sure you understand that. While I am on the subject perhaps you might like to hear an offer of mine." Ozpin lectured the former soldier.

"If you're about to offer Donovan and myself a job here, don't. The two of us just need to learn if we can use aura and how. We already agreed to helping you out the way we know how, that's how it's going to stay. I make enough lien running the bar." Lincoln politely refused the headmaster's offer.

"Well I can respect that Lincoln, if you change your mind about my offer I'll be waiting." Ozpin said in a determined tone.

"I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you Oz." Donovan added wryly.

"Perhaps in time the both of you may change your minds. Either way, we must work out the finer details of your training. Someone must first activate your auras, I volunteer myself for the job, Qrow will handle the other activation." The headmaster looked to his associate.

"Let's just get this over with already." Qrow said lazily as he walked over to Donovan. The operative stood up and looked Qrow in the eye for a brief moment before the huntsman put his hand on Donovan's chest and began to chant. With a brief flash the agent's aura flared for the first time, the color being a vibrant orange. The Agent grinned, enjoying the rush of power into his system at that moment from the activation.

"Holy shit, this is great!" Donovan exclaimed with a grin on his face.

Lincoln briefly looked at his friend in intrigue, an amused smile gracing the mobster's features. The former soldier nodded to Ozpin, and the headmaster of Beacon academy strolled over to him. Placing a hand on Lincoln's chest, the wise headmaster repeated the same chant Qrow had with Donovan. Lincoln felt a pulse in his chest as his aura began to project itself around him. The former soldier gritted his teeth as his powerful aura manifested itself, raw power making him feel an incredible increase in strength. "This feels good." Lincoln said coolly with his green aura disappearing from view.

"Well you two seem to be enjoying this." Ozpin said as he stepped back from the two men.

"Thank you, captain obvious." Donovan replied sarcastically.

"Power always feels good." Lincoln clarified in a satisfied tone.

"Don't forget that power always comes with responsibility, Lincoln." Ozpin said as he pointed a finger at the soldier in green.

"Oh, I have no intention to forget that, Ozpin. But no matter how you use it or how things change, power always finds a place to rest its head." Lincoln crossed his arms as he gave his calm retort.

"So, it does." The wise headmaster nodded.

"Can we cut the philosophy, and get down to the other reasons we came here to speak? The aura is nice but that wasn't the only reason we came here." Donovan rolled his eyes, wanting to move the discussion forward to its next point of interest. The experienced field agent then pulled out a pack of cigarettes and his lighter. With a quick flick of the lighter's switch he lit a cigarette and took a short puff.

"Mister Donovan, please put that out." Glynda said to the agent with a look of disapproval on her stern yet pretty face.

"Didn't happen to see any 'no smoking' signs posted."

"That does not matter, you are in the headmaster's office and I make the rules, so PUT. IT. OUT." The beautiful disciplinarian said in a threatening manner as she gave the agent her evil eye.

"Alright, since you put it sooo nicely…" Donovan took a longer drag from the cigarette and then blew a smoke cloud before dropping the but on the floor and then coughing briefly. "Satisfied?" He said as he looked at Glynda.

"Not in the slightest." She growled.

Seeing that it would be best to move the conversation along, Ozpin coughed and brought attention to himself. "*cough*Ah yes, the time has come for another round of discussions on Salem." Ozpin agreed with the former agent.

"Right, so what has miss voodoo been up to?" Donovan asked curiously, turning his gaze away from an irritated Glynda.

"Miss voodoo?" Ozpin raised an eyebrow.

"Just a nickname we came up with." Lincoln clarified.

"I see. Moving on, yes, she has been busy in the shadows as of recent times. Her most loyal associate Tyrian has been spotted in mistral once again." Ozpin said as he brought up an image of the extremely devout religious assassin.

"He's been looking for something and killing off some pretty interesting targets in Mistral's criminal underworld." Qrow added as he took a sip from his flask, to which Glynda shook her head.

"Any specifics?" Lincoln narrowed his eye with a serious look on face.

"He's been targeting members of the Xiong crime family. Although it seems he hasn't found what he seeks, though this may only be a matter of time." Ozpin explained the details of the current situation.

"I can't imagine what that could be." Lincoln lied as he thought of the compromised Haven academy, which Qrow picked up on immediately but said nothing about.

"Well from what we know it happens to also involve a group of archaeologists that the Xiong family had contracted to look into a recent discovery of some sort. All this information comes from a reliable associate of ours in Mistral, I assure you." Ozpin said in a calm and affable manner.

"Not that we don't trust you, but how reliable is your source really?" Donovan said as he leaned forward in his chair.

"He is an old friend whom I trust very much. Why do you ask?" Ozpin replied.

"In our experience it pays to know these kinds of things, who to trust among them. That's all you need to know." The experienced former agent replied in a matter-of-factly tone.

"Perhaps, trust is an extreme valuable commodity when it comes to our situation as a whole." Ozpin nodded.

"Yeah Ozzy, but it's a two-way street, and the both of these guys seem to know something we don't." Qrow butted in the conversation, giving the two criminals a suspicious accusation.

"Qrow my friend, I'll only tell you once, mind your own fucking business." Donovan said as he stood up from his seat and looked the veteran huntsman in the eye, with a dead serious look on his face.

"You were a lot more friendly last night, buddy." Qrow said in irritated tone of voice as he returned Donovan's irritated look with his own.

"And you were drunk off your ass, pal." Donovan retorted coolly.

"Yeah, and your point is?" Qrow growled.

"Want to make something of it? Cause with my new extra juice I think I can take you on." The agent took a step back and confidently crossed his arms with a smirk prevalent on his face.

"You and what imaginary army, shithead?" The dusty old crow insulted Donovan.

"That's pretty funny, but I don't need one to kick your lazy ass." Donovan scoffed, returning Qrow's insult.

"Enough! Lock it down, both of you!" Lincoln barked gruffly at the two quarreling men. For a brief moment both of them seemed to twitch in fear at Lincoln's order. Both of them looked at each and then went right back to feuding.

"He started it!" They said in unison.

"It doesn't matter who started, I'm finishing it. Look If this makes things easier, I'll throw you people a bone, we have our own sources sniffing around Mistral for intel on Salem. We felt it was necessary to do so considering we know so little about you and your own sources, not to mention how much you know about us. I'd say that's more than enough intel to even things out, right?" Lincoln said firmly to Qrow and Donovan. He then began to explain some of their extra activities in the name of preserving the balance of the alliance.

"I suppose that is a fair enough exchange. Wouldn't you agree Qrow?" Ozpin agreed and then looked to Qrow with a firm expression.

"Fine, we'll settle this thing later, Donovan." Qrow said to Donovan as he sat leaned back against the wall.

"Oh, you can count on it, Qrow." Donovan replied with a sly attitude.

"I thought I told you both to shut the fuck up. Settle your shit later, we've got work to do and you both know it." Lincoln growled at them.

"Yeah you did Lincoln." Donovan shrugged and put his hands up.

"Alright, screw it. I need a drink." Qrow sighed and pulled out his flask, only to find it empty. Donovan noticed that and decided to be the more mature of the two, handing Qrow his own flask of whiskey. The dusty old crow smiled at the peace offering and took a swig from the agent's handy stock of booze. With the hatchet buried for the time being, the meeting was free to continue from that point on.

"Now that we've settled that, I think it's time we settled on showing Salem we mean business." Lincoln said as he cracked his knuckles.

"And how would you propose we do that, Lincoln?" Ozpin inquired.

"By disrupting her operation, if Tyrian is looking for information, we just have to find it first. We need to fight smart and figure out more about what the enemy is up to. If it turns out to be useful, we'll have the advantage, simple enough." The veteran explained his idea for their alliance's next move.

"Even I could've suggested that." Qrow said with his arms crossed.

"Maybe, but I didn't see you stepping up with any ideas. Anyway, it's clear as day that if Salem wants this intel, we need it. But then again, we also have to think two moves ahead, for all we know this could just be something Salem's doing to distract us from something else." Lincoln retorted to the scythe wielder's comment and then focused his attention back on the group as a whole.

"Spoken like a proficient tactician." Ozpin nodded in agreement with the soldier's words.

"It helps to have experience. Now let's stop talking and get to work, I'll get in touch with my sources in Mistral and have them see what they can find out." Lincoln replied coolly.

"Agreed, my associates and I shall do the same. I trust we will reconvene when all necessary information has been gathered to make our next move." Ozpin said confidently.

"Yes, that sound fine to me." Lincoln nodded in agreement with the headmaster and then turned to his partner. "Donovan, let's head out."

"See ya Later everybody." Donovan said jovially as he lit another cigarette and began to walk out with Lincoln.

Once the two men had entered the elevator and were out of earshot, Glynda decided to voice her thoughts. "I really do not care for that man's presence Ozpin." The head disciplinarian griped at Donovan's rude behavior.

"You must at least tolerate them Glynda. They may seem difficult to adjust to but they are valuable allies in our struggle." Ozpin attempted to calm her down, though it was only a marginally successful effort .

"Mister Clay is certainly the more tolerable of the two. He at least knows how to be respectful." The woman sighed in frustration.

"Eh, Donovan has his moments." Qrow chimed in calmly as he stretched himself out.

"You were just arguing with him!" Glynda barked incredulously at her colleague's statement.

"Believe it or not, some that was actually in good fun. Not to mention he made up for being an ass with a shot of whiskey. Though I am gonna kick his ass later." Qrow explained with a calm look on his face.

"You are unbelievable Qrow." Glynda shook her head at the dusty old crow's response.

"I know. Ain't it great?" Qrow said with a cheeky grin on his face, making it clear where his niece had gotten her interesting sense of humor. Ozpin looked at the two of them and simply smiled at the interaction between his friends.

-WITH LINCOLN AND DONOVAN-

The two men stood in the elevator for a moment in silence as they listened to the hum of the machinery. The clockwork of the tower echoed nearby, though it decreased as the lift went down from the office. Donovan grew tired our the silence and decided to speak up.

"So what's the real next move?" Donovan asked his friend beside him.

"We can't leave Mistral together, and I need you here. Although we do have someone who can look into it for us." The experienced criminal said as he leaned against the back of the elevator.

"Locus." Donovan guessed.

"Yep, we'll put him on it and then work on finding our next associate. The stronger we are, the better, plus it'll be getting him out of our way for if and when we get our hands dirty later. If you catch my drift. We'll be doing that pretty damn soon too, next week."

"The man with the plan as always." Donovan smirked.

"You know me, I like to play things smart." Lincoln shrugged.

-END CHAPTER-


	12. I hear a train coming

Atonement: Lincoln Clay

Episode 12: I hear the train coming

* * *

[Disabled doctor: :) ]

[Gamelover41592: Thanks, and you're about to find out what's in store for Locus.]

[Wombag1786: I'm glad you understand. Oh and I saw 'Man from U.N.C.L.E.' on TV! I need to watch it again though when I get the chance for some inspiration, it'd be perfect. I'm going to try my hand at getting a certain 'cowpoke's' rancid personality in this chapter for practice, let me know if I get him right.]

[Dracus6: I might do it, but I also might get Sam Fisher, or a certain ghostly Spec Ops team, or Captain Price, involved...]

[Elex: I don't know if I could pull it off. Smushing the two worlds together like that is a tall order for me, and if I do it, I want to do it right. SO **if** I ever get around to it, then it's a long way off.]

[STILLFASTABOI: Thanks, yes he will. No, Vito is busy running New Bordeaux and I may invovle him in later tales of Lincoln's adventures if I get that far. But for now, I know someone else who Lincoln knows that might be a good consigliere, here's a hint: he used to run Barclay Mills]

* * *

-2 DAYS LATER-

Locus had entered Mistral by way of his Bullhead transport and had touched down in the city near Haven academy. It was a good thing Cyrus had made that reservation for a private landing pad since they occasionally had business in that kingdom. The veteran mercenary made his way through the streets of Mistral City, passing all sorts of shops and businesses along the way to his destination. With some spare time on his hands before he would reach the location of a local contact he'd been pointed to for information, the mercenary decided to review his mission's parameters.

He more or less understood the mission he'd been paid to do, some private detective work for Lincoln and Donovan to look into the deaths of several archaeological researchers. As he walked along, he kept pondering the information he'd been given so far. All of the men and women who'd been killed were brutally tortured, most likely as part of an interrogation. The sheer gore of some of the deaths from what he heard meant their assailant was a violent sadist. But each of them was reported to also have been killed with a headshot, a swift death. That didn't usually match up, not if his past experience with Felix as a hitman was anything to go by.

It didn't make much sense to him, but on Remnant there were quite a few things that didn't always add up. The mercenary finished that thought as he rounded a corner to continue down another path in direction of his destination. His mind then wandered into another subject, the recent history of his current client, the mysterious mister Lincoln Clay. He heard from a few reliable sources about what Lincoln and Donovan has caused over at Junior's and bringing him under their employment.

The picture that information painted for him was more or less shaping into something he knew he had to keep an eye on. Lincoln seemed decent enough to him, and someone needed to bring Junior to heel before he could cause any major problems on behalf of the Xiong crime family. For now, Clay was simply keeping a lid on the city's crime, so it didn't require immediate attention. All in all, Locus decided it was a problem for another day.

His thoughts were then interrupted by a radio call from his partner. "Locus, this is Siris checking in. What's your status?"

"On my way to the crime scene." Locus responded. "Do you have any new intel we can use?"

"I've talked with the project's remaining scientists here at the university. So far, they've had some close encounters, and it definitely like they were being watched. Not to mention whatever data or papers they hadn't backed up were stolen by the suspects. I know this goes without saying, but they definitely have some ties to the Xiongs considering how evasive they were when I hit certain topics, otherwise they were very cooperative." Siris answered.

"So, most of the important findings are missing, and we might have multiple hostiles to deal with." Locus surmised.

"In that order, yes and most likely. But let's leave the Xiongs' business alone, as far as we're concerned all we're doing is looking into a private case to get some justice for a few lives. I'll see what else I can dig up here, you just investigate the residence of the head researcher, Doctor J Chang. If we're lucky, the cops missed something and we might have a few clues to go off of." Siris told his partner in a stern manner.

"Understood. I'll check in again later when I'm done. Over and out." Locus grunted in acknowledgement and ended the call.

Eventually he found himself at the front of door of a small townhouse and scanned the building with his eyes for an opening that hadn't been sealed. With no visible entrance on the front side of the building, Locus entered a nearby alley to further his search for an entrance where he believed no one would notice his entry into the building. The mercenary found a maintenance ladder on the side of the building and climbed to the roof. After that, he broke open a locked hatch on the roof and jumped down into the residence.

Locus looked around the upper floor and turned on his shotgun's flashlight attachment. He slowly looked around the room, taking in the various signs of a struggle and messy bloodstains. What immediately caught his interest was a bullet hole in the floor. The round itself had taken by a ballistics scientist but if the hole was anything to go by then it had been a handgun caliber. The angle of bullet's trajectory pointed to the victim being on their knees when they died, it was a finishing execution.

The mercenary pictured it all in his head, the door had been forced open and two men had barged into the main room. Doctor Chun had been slashed several times during the fight as indicated by blood and blade marks on the floor. After the fight was over the interrogation had begun and it lasted for quite some time. From how the place had been ransacked he'd held out until he was out of aura to keep him alive.

Locus turned his head around to look at a nearby desk that appeared to have been turned inside out. He carefully inspected the inside of the seemingly empty drawers for anything that the killers missed. It felt absurd to him, but when he considered the criminal connections to the research… a secret button was within the real of possibilities. He felt a small depression in the wood and pressed on it, a loud clank sound echoed throughout the room. A small concealed door popped open to reveal a small safe with a wrapped package in it.

"Siris, do you copy?" Locus radioed to his partner.

"I'm here, you got something?" Siris asked.

"Yes, a small package. It's probably the extra research data." Locus replied.

"Good. I've got some more info on the suspects who were following some of the researchers. A few common factors in the sightings was a faunus of some kind, and a man in a duster coat and white hat." Siris said confidently and began relaying descriptions on of the two possible targets they were up against. Suddenly there was large explosion at the door.

*BOOM*

Locus was sent flying and painfully smacked against the drywall, leaving behind an indent and several cracked slabs of wall. He grunted in pain as he stood up and grabbed his shotgun on instinct as two men nonchalantly strolled into the room.

"Well looks like we found the guy who's been sniffing around where he shouldn't." One of the strangers said eagerly. The man in question wore a white hat, black trench coat and red shirt, giving him the appearance of a cowboy.

"Yes, we must deal with him quickly, the goddess is expecting us and we cannot disappoint her." The other man in the cloak said darkly, a bloodthirsty reverence in his voice.

With a look of annoyance, the cowboy shook his head at the cloak wearing psychopath. "Why you worship her is something I will never understand." He groaned.

"You're the ones who killed the scientists." Locus said as he pointed the shotgun in their direction.

The gunslinger nodded. "Guilty as charged cowpoke. Now why don't you hand over that little package you found and let us be on our way?"

Locus narrowed his eyes under his helmet. "That's not going to happen."

"Wrong choice of words." The gunslinger said in an eager tone as he drew two old school looking revolvers. A barrage of bullets was fired in the direction of the mercenary who managed to take cover behind a table. Locus brought up his pump action shotgun and prepared to fire just as he was rushed by the other man. The veteran mercenary sidestepped his opponent and fired his shotgun at near point-blank range against the man's back. Not wasting a second, he ran ups the stairs, narrowly avoiding being shot by the gunslinger.

Locus found a chair to stand on and jumped up to the hatch in the rooftop. He barely climbed out as his pursuers caught up to him. The mercenary then tossed the grenade into the hatch and took off running. He slid down the ladder with all due haste, sprinting for his life as he heard shouts from his pursuers.

"Get back here! You've got something I want!" The gunslinger roared wildly as he fired his gun in Locus's direction. Several innocent civilians ended up getting hit by stray gunfire as result of the cowboy's actions.

"We cannot let him escape, Micah." The man in the cloak told his partner.

"Ya think I don't know that, Tyrian?!" Micah snapped.

Locus continued to evade their pursuit, returning fire with his pistol to attempt to slow them down. The cloak wearing assailant though proved to be far faster than the gunslinger and managed to get ahead of the fleeing mercenary. A swift slash from a scorpion tail was narrowly avoided by the mercenary and he responded with a powerful blast from the shotgun. Despite being knocked back by the shot, Tyrian managed to barely stand his ground.

A gunshot whizzed by Locus's head and he swiftly tackled Tyrian to the ground and landed several heavy punches to the psychotic Faunus's face. Tyrian thrashed wildly and with a mighty heave he managed to throw the mercenary off of him. Locus tumbled for several feet and then found himself at the mercy of the gunslinger who began to beat him senseless. In a show of good timing, the mercenary managed to catch one of the cowboy's punches and land a counter strike to the man's gut.

Micah kneeled over in pain for a brief moment and Locus got back on his feet. After a moment to catch their respective winds, the two fighters stared each other down in an apparent stand-off. Both men took up a dueling stance to reach for their respective pistols, and in a brief flash of moves both men had drawn their guns and fired. Locus's shot knocked the gun out of Micah's hand, while Micah had managed to hit the mercenary in his left shoulder. Locus clutched his injury, and then charged at Micah to engage him in hand to hand combat.

"Tyrian now!" Micah shouted in desperation.

Just as Locus was about to close in for his assault Tyrian jumped in and tackled to the ground. The mercenary struggled to force his opponent off of him and resorted to kneeing the psychotic faunus in the balls. Tyrian immediately froze in sheer pain from the impact on his privates and emitted a high-pitched whine. Seeing an opening from his dirty tactic, Locus headbutted the assassin and threw him off. By the time Locus had begun trying to run again, Micah had retrieved his pistol and fired another barrage of gunshots at his target. The gunslinger took a breath and was about to squeeze the trigger for kill shot but suddenly a loud crack rang out in the air.

"Ah son of a-!" Micah cursed as the pistol flew out of his hand again.

Locus looked to a nearby rooftop as he sprinted away from the two hitmen to catch a faint glint from a rifle scope. "Looks like I got here just in time." Siris said smugly over the radio.

"Can you keep them pinned down?" Locus asked his fellow vigilante.

Siris fired another round at his targets and using his hands he signaled to locus with an 'ok' symbol. "For as long as you need. Get back to the bullhead, we're getting out of here and heading straight to Haven to chat up the headmaster. The local police should be on scene to clean up the mess soon enough." The sniper replied coolly.

"Understood, I'll be there soon." Locus finished, focusing heavily on his mad sprint to the bullhead and used his active camouflage to disappear when he finally got the chance.

Back with Tyrian and Micah, the gunslinger had taken cover behind a brick wall to avoid getting shot. "Tyrian, get off your ball-busted ass and catch that guy! I'll deal with that sniper!" Micah shouted and blindly fired his pistol at the sniper high above them. After firing several shots in desperation, a clever thought struck the gunslinger. He then grinned madly as he pulled out a match and lit a stick of dynamite. With a good heave he threw the explosive into the air and covered his ears as it was struck by a bullet. Using the smoke from the explosion as cover, Micah ran out from his current position and tried to outflank his enemy.

Tyrian pulled himself off of the ground and began trying to track down the fleeing mercenary. It was clear to him that wherever the mercenary had gone, he could not have gotten very far so quickly. Using his heightened faunus senses the zealous killer followed a trail of blood that Locus had left behind. He smirked to himself as he seemed to close in on the injured human with each passing moment.

After rounding a corner that lead into a dead end alley Tyrian decided to try striking fear into his opponent. "Come out human, I know you can hear me. Perhaps I might 'not' castrate you for what you did earlier." He said in a bloodthirsty tone. A can clanked at the end of the alley and Tyrian leapt at the disturbance, only to find nothing there except garbage cans and old crates. He was then taken by surprise as his opponent appeared behind him and fired a shotgun blast into his back at point blank range. A loud shout of pain erupted Trian's mouth as he flew into the brick wall with a loud thud.

Now filled with ire at the man who'd shot him, the psychotic zealot recovered and charged at Locus. The mercenary fluidly sidestepped his attack and countered by grabbing a knife and slashing Tyrian across the chest as he flew by.

"Why won't you die?!" Tyrian hissed as he attempted to close in on Locus for the kill, but the mercenary simply countered his attack once more. Locus then tossed a grenade in Tyrian's direction and took cover. With a loud bang, the grenade exploded and sent the zealous killer over flying over the wall, seemingly rendered unconscious from the blast. Locus didn't hesitate to leave the area and began running once more towards the direction of his objective.

-BACK WITH SIRIS-

The sniper and the gunslinger had gotten into a pistol battle, trading entire magazines worth of rounds several times over. Neither man was willing to back down from their prolonged battle of weapons and wit. Siris tried outflanking his enemy but Micah knew better than to let someone get behind him in a gunfight. The gunslinger transitioned from behind a cart to a nearby stone pillar and tossed another lit stick of dynamite. Siris spotted the incoming explosive and leapt safety behind stone wall just before it exploded.

"You're really nimble for a cripple!" Micah taunted his opponent as he fired his pistol at Siris.

"Seriously, trying to egg me on?!" Siris shouted to the mustache wearing hick. "I've heard better from someone way more annoying than you."

"Then hold still and you won't hear anything anymore!" Miacah rushed towards siris, rapidly firing his guns.

"I'd rather eat shit, redneck!" SIris shot back with own spare shotgun.

"Talk will get you nowhere peg leg!" Micah closed in and swiped at the one legged sniper with his bowie knife. Siris parried his enemy's attack and then punched him square in the face. "Grraagh! You broke jaw!" Micah cried out in pain.

"Good!" Siris shouted as he threw another punch and knocked out the gunslinging mad man. Micah unceremoniously tumbled to the ground and groaned in his sleep. With a quick flip of the middle finger, Siris turned around and walked away.

-END CHAPTER-


	13. What's that sound

Atonement: Lincoln Clay

Episode 13: What's that sound

A/N: Apologies for the delay everyone, had some issues with making this chapter entertaining. Everybody please let me know if I am portraying these characters correctly, I am trying to be the best author I can be. Sorry this is all talking even after this long, I've been having writer's block big time! Also, could anybody possibly provide an idea to help me get the ball rolling on a relationship between Clay and Khan if I decide to go through with it. I am open to suggestions.

* * *

[Guest 1: Yes he's going to play a very entertaining role.]

[Wombag1786: Yes I am, my friend. Thank you.]

[Gamelover41592: You could say that.]

[Disabled-doctor: Tremendous]

[buzzsaw935: Micah's time will come.]

[Guest 2: Thank you for the idea but I don't know if I could make the Anansi one work. As for the possibility of Lincoln and Sienna having kids if I can make their relationship work, I'm leaning towards twin daughters, but that's not set in stone.]

[Guest 3: I like AC and GoT, but that's not in my wheelhouse.]

[Guest 4: Indeed.]

* * *

-MISTRAL: HAVEN ACADEMY-

Locus and Siris reached the main door the academy's central building, they had spent a short while walking in silence to reflect on what had happened to them earlier. Siris had decided to be the one to break the silence and confer with his partner.

"This whole case is evolving as we go along." Siris sighed in exasperation.

"I agree, but for now the parameters of our mission remain unchanged." Locus replied as he and Siris approached the main building of the academy.

Upon their arrival, Siris pushed open the large door that lead into the building. "Our next course of action is to speak with the headmaster." He pointed in the direction of Lionheart's office.

"Certainly, a logical choice for our next lead in this investigation, but not the correct one." Locus grumbled as they climbed up the steps to the next floor of the building.

"I know you don't trust Lionheart, but this is his city to protect and he's likely to have some information." Siris rolled his eyes at Locus's apparent issue with the headmaster.

"We didn't see a single Mistrali huntsman or huntress during our skirmish. For as long as that took, they should have responded at some point before it was over. Someone was obviously running interference." Locus countered his partner's words with his own observation and summary.

"I'll give you that, it is suspicious even for him. You don't think we were set up do you?" Siris looked at his partner.

"Lincoln wouldn't send us into a trap, it's not his style from what I've observed. Though from what I could tell he knew we would have difficulty on this assignment." Locus shook his head.

"The facts all point to it being a conspiracy. One that Lincoln and Donovan are well aware of, but don't want to get involved in, which is why they hired us." Siris put a hand to his chin in thought.

"Exactly, and my instincts tell me that Lionheart knows something more than what he'll tell us. Which is partly what our employers will want to know, how untrustworthy he is." Locus added just before they stopped at the door to Lionheart's office.

"We'll see about that." Siris knocked on the office door. Professor Lionheart opened the door, a small bead of sweat ran down the headmaster's forehead. Locus was quick to notice the small bead but kept it to himself for the moment.

"Yes, err, do come in. Ah Mister Locus and Mister Siris, what brings you here to Haven Academy?" The headmaster greeted them.

"We're performing a private investigation, and we were attacked by unknown hostile individuals." Siris told him in calm tone.

"I heard about that, and I offer my apologies for your distress. If you have grievances then that would be a matter for the police, I am dealing with a large amount work at the moment so this must be quick." Lionheart said as gestured for the both of them to enter the room. Both men walked inside the office, and Siris sat down on the chair in front of the desk while the headmaster sat down in his own chair behind it.

Locus leaned against the wall and focused his attention squarely on the headmaster. The elderly man seemed to have a nervous disposition that gave Locus a good indication that something was wrong.

"We didn't come here for discussion about you headmaster. What do you know about the murders of several local scientists that occurred recently?" Siris asked the headmaster.

"The council have been tying my hands when it comes to the intervention of local huntsmen and huntresses and the police are the ones you should be asking those questions to; it is not my concern." Lionheart told the mercenary.

"We didn't ask you for what your personnel are up to. Answer the questions we give you." Locus chimed in, and the professor seemed to shiver at the sound of his voice.

"I only have minimal knowledge of it at best, now please leave. I have more important paper work to do and an important conference call in a few minutes." Lionheart responded, and followed with an attempt to subtly dismiss the two men.

"Can you at least answer a few more questions? This won't take long." Siris asked politely.

"Very well, if you insist." Lionheart submitted. He believed that it was best to try and not rouse suspicion by submitting to further questions.

"We do." Locus said sternly, the headmaster's tactics had already begun to wear on his patience.

"Easy Locus." Siris told his partner. "Now professor, you said it is not your concern when it comes to events that occur within the city. Why is that? That was a threat the police are not equipped to deal with." The calmer of two mercenaries asked.

"I thought we had moved on from that discussion." Lionheart said defensively with hint of slight annoyance at the revisiting of a previous topic.

Locus noticed the weakness of the headmaster and moved to exploit it. "You're hiding something professor. Tell us what it is." He growled and pounded the desk in an attempt to intimidate the professor.

"Locus-!" Siris tried to scold his partner.

"I am hiding nothing!" The professor snapped. Locus internally smirked, Lionheart had given him the exact reaction he'd been hoping for.

"This is the city you have been sworn to protect, the council would have no interest in preventing local huntsmen and huntresses from acting in the event of an emergency. I would know this since I've spoken with them before. In short, you're lying." Locus slammed a fist on the headmaster's desk, which startled the cowardly teacher.

"I have no reason to deceive either of you!" Lionheart angrily replied. "The-"

"Your expressions say otherwise." Locus interrupted the headmaster.

"Locus enough!" Siris barked at his companion.

"I have had quite enough of you two! Get out of my office, or I shall have the both of you escorted from the premises!" Lionheart roared at the two men; anger written on his face with an inkling of fear underneath it.

"Headmaster Lionheart, perhaps you should reconsider that. And Locus-!" Siris attempted to mediate the situation.

"I told you to leave! Now I ask you once more, leave my academy!" Lionheart scolded the mercenaries and turned his back on them, hiding the streams of fear induced sweat trickling down his forehead. He had a feeling someone he knew would be displeased at the notion that these investigators were suspicious and had not been dealt with.

Locus read the coward's expression and body language, and much to his satisfaction, he'd gotten the exact reaction from the headmaster that he'd been looking for. "As you wish, Lionheart. Let's go Siris." Locus said as he reached into his pocket and stuck a listening device under the headmaster's desk while his back was turned.

"What the hell Locus?!" Siris berated his partner to keep up the act of misdirection.

"I said get out!" Lionheart roared again.

"We're going." Siris responded as he stood up from his seat and began walking out with his partner.

Lionheart turned back towards briefly to make sure they left the room, he stormed over to the door and slammed it shut once they had gone. The elderly headmaster started to hyperventilate in fear, he knew all too well what was coming next, and dread filled his entire being at the very thought of his master's disappointment. Regardless, he did have a chance to shift the blame onto someone else and perhaps salvage his current situation. He waited silent for minutes, contemplating what to say to Tyrian so that he would be able to draw Salem's attention to her most loyal minion. When he considered the failure of his own ability to conceal his allegiance, he believed that he was in a far better standing than Tyrian and given the man's nature it would serve Lionheart well to alert him.

After enough time had passed, the fallen headmaster stood up from his seat and made his way through the academy, passing students and staff along the way. Eventually he arrived at the door to the chamber where he could communicate with his… master. With a quick breath to steady himself, Lionheart opened the door and walked inside. Several feet away from him, near the center of the chamber, was a floating Grimm creature. The monster's head resembled a mystical orb of some sort, which allowed for two-way visual conversation between Lionheart and Salem.

"Report." Salem's voice carried over through the grimm's orb.

"Ah Salem, as you may be aware, I have been visited by the men who fought Tyrian and Mr. Bell." The professor said in a frightened tone. "The both of them had come to me seeking information. They are still near the academy if you want me to inform Tyrian and Mr. Bell."

"Hmm..." The dark queen pondered on whether not to send them and provide those two a chance to redeem themselves. But then again, the odds that they might fail again are fairly high.

"I-if I may add, I believe they may have been sent by Lincoln Clay. The reason I say that is because the Xiong crime family has ties to him and the police have confirmed that. They were investigating the murders and..." Lionheart mustered a small amount of courage and provided his superior with further information. Salem's eyes briefly narrowed in displeasure at the mention of the mobster who had escaped her once before.

"Do not do anything rash. If someone were to dispose of them now, authorities will start suspecting people. Mainly you." She hissed at the professor.

"I understand." The professor replied with a shaky nod of his head. "Other than that, I have nothing else to report."

"Hmm... Inform Tyrian and Micah that for now they are strictly to keep an eye on the mercenaries, but they may redeem themselves later by repaying mister Clay for his interference. That will be all Lionheart." Salem instructed the corrupt headmaster.

"Yes Salem." Lionheart nodded. Salem's face then shrouded and disappeared from view in the orb head of the grimm.

-MEANWHILE: WITH MICAH AND TYRIAN: MISTRAL CITY OUTSKIRTS-

The two men were calmly walking the trail as some grimm creatures flew overhead. "Remind me again, why am I stuck with YOU of all people?" Micah griped sourly about his present company. The bruises of the previous battle were still fresh on his skin, along with small spots of dried blood on his coat.

"Because our Queen ordered it." Tyrian scoffed at his associate's sarcasm.

Micah shot a look of contempt at the scorpion faunus. "You know, the way you worship Salem, proves you're about as loony as a coyote with rabies." He huffed dryly, attempting to antagonize his ally for whatever reason. "That kind of thing tends to make you nothing but incompetent."

"Incompetent am I? So says the man who allowed those two a moment to escape. That one legged man knocked you unconscious, he was a weakling with a mechanical leg." Tyrian shot back.

"Peg leg just got lucky, that's all there is to it. You believe in luck don't ya, stinger?" Micah countered with another insult.

"By all means continue your insults, I'll enjoy ending you for your attitude alone." Tyrian grinned menacingly as he looked Micah straight in the eye. "That is, when you outlive your usefulness to the Queen."

"Believe me, when that day comes partner, I'll be happy to return the 'sentiment' and put a bullet in your head. You can count on that." Micah coolly replied, his words were laced with venom and the gunslinger's hand had found its way to his pistol.

"Oh I can't wait for that day to come! After all, the deal you made with her won't last forever... Hahaha!" Tyrian cackled, shrugging his shoulders to relax at the twisted humor that only he could understand. Micah shook his head in disgust and pulled his hand away from the gun, he'd make sure the faunus got his due when the time came. The bickering between the two rogues finally ended when Tyrian's scroll began to rumble in his pocket. The psychotic faunus reached into his pocket and pulled out the device, he then answered the call and put the scroll to his ear.

"Tyrian, I hope mister Bell is with you, the duo that beat you both earlier have just visited my office and left. I've spoken with Salem about the matter, and she has told me to pass along her order that you are to keep a close EYE on them, for now. Until further notice there shall be no contact whatsoever unless there is serious risk of my being discovered." Lionheart instructed the two of them.

"We cannot eliminate those two for now, what a pain." Tyrian growled.

"For once we actually agree." Micah said lazily.

"Until they are further away from here, her direct orders for you both are to do NOTHING other than watch and follow the mercenaries to where they came from. But if Lincoln Clay is involved in this, then you may retaliate with Salem's blessing." Lionheart told the two vicious killers.

"Lionheart, did you say Lincoln Clay?" Tyrian's grin widened at the familiar name mentioned to him, and Micah stepped a foot or two away from him out of discomfort.

"Yes, I did." Lionheart replied uncomfortably.

"Oh joy, I can't wait to pay him and his little kiddies a visit!" Tyrian chuckled malevolently.

"Take it you know this Lincoln guy?" Micah raised an eyebrow.

"He escaped me once before, and his children oh so cleverly injured my legs that day." The scorpion faunus narrowed his eyes in anger at the memory of the children and their caretaker escaping his grasp.

"Well then…" Micah hummed, the gears turned in his head at how he could put this to use to prove himself to Salem and save face. "There's nothing like a good bit of old fashioned revenge to take the edge off at times like this, don't you think? I say this Clay fella ought to learn a very painful lesson to stay out of our business." He spoke in a cool tone to try appealing to Tyrian's love of sadistic violence, it was something he could find common ground with the zealot on.

"Mutual hatred, isn't it just grand?" Tyrian smiled in an unhinged manner to his partner. The gunslinger kept silent for a brief moment and pulled out a match and cigarette from his pocket.

"In this case, you and I can definitely agree, friend." Micah returned the sentiment and with a flick of the match, lit the cigarette. He took a long drag on it and flicked off the ash when it was done. "I think for now, you and I can bury the hatchet."

"For now, we'll settle our differences later." Tyrian nodded in satisfaction.

-END CHAPTER-


	14. Got to Beware

Atonement: Lincoln Clay

Episode 14: Got to Beware

* * *

[Wombag1786: Thanks and Lincoln will do more than paint it black with led!]

[Gamelover41592: Yep, thanks.]

* * *

-VALE: INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT: MORNING-

It was the cold beginning of another relatively peaceful day within the city of Vale, business as usual for the locals, including a small general store on a corner near the dockyards. Within the store though was another example of the usual goings on within the city that most would turn a blind eye to, a simple drug store stick-up. Two thugs stood at the counter of the store, pointing their guns at the clerk who happened to be a middle aged dog faunus.

One of the stick up 'artists' put his gun to the owner's forehead and was about ready to squeeze the trigger if the store owner made any sudden moves. "Alright, hand me the lien cards you've racked up today." Little did both of them know, there was a shotgun hidden under the counter. The man holding pistol to the owner's head had expected something though, all he needed was that excuse to fire.

"I swear to Oum almighty, this happens once a month. Don't you assholes have anything better to do than rob me on a regular basis?" The clerk said as he opened the register and began pulling out the cards.

The criminal pointed his pistol slightly to the side and fired. "Hurry up! I haven't got all day!" He shouted impatiently.

"I'm hurrying! Don't fucking shoot me!" Shouted the clerk as he pulled out more of the cards.

-MEANWHILE-

Lincoln was busy strolling along the street with his hands inside his jacket for warmth. The big man had spent so much time in the humidity of the southern USA and Asian jungles that it was taking him some getting used to for the cold air of Vale in winter. He grumbled to himself as he walked into the general store for his groceries for the week. He'd remember to grab a few cigars on his way out of course, he needed a little something to relax besides alcohol after all. He approached the door and was about to walk in when he saw the two thugs at the counter. The man holding the pistol at the clerk was briefly distracted and the owner quickly dove for the shotgun.

Lincoln rushed the second man that was holding an assault rifle and proceeded to beat him with his bare hands. The pistol packing crook fired a shot at the clerk who had popped back up, but the clerk fired a load of buckshot into the criminal's torso. Although the blast hadn't killed him, the shot had almost instantly knocked the man to the ground. Lincoln pounded his fist into the other crook's face and cracked his teeth like thin glass hitting the sidewalk. The crook fired his rifle as he struggled to force the trained soldier off of him, which happened to obliterate a few shelves of products that happened to be in the line of fire. Within a few seconds, the magazine had emptied and an audible click signaled that he had expended his ammunition. Lincoln keened the man in his balls and forced him to drop the gun in pain. Slightly more than a second later, Lincoln had brutally stomped his boot on the man's face, which knocked him unconscious.

With both criminals down for the count, Lincoln and the shop owner could breathe easy. The dog faunus sighed as he set the shotgun down on the counter and leaned back against the wall. He'd been lucky this time, but the sad fact was that it wouldn't always be the case, there was bound to be another robbery or another shakedown sooner or later. He could only growl in anger at his situation, he'd been suffering this crap for too long in his opinion. Why did this have to keep happening to him? Was it just bad luck or were the gods being cruel? His train of thought was derailed by the customer who'd approached the counter.

A shopping basket was set on the counter with an audible clack. "How much for all this?" Lincoln asked the shopkeeper.

"O-oh right. Let me just ring you up." The dog faunus stepped over to the register and started typing away. "Fucking White Fang, oh we fight for faunus rights! We'll protect your shop, just pay us they said!" the man grumbled just barely loud enough for Lincoln to hear.

"I take it this shit happens regularly." Lincoln said as he pulled a card out of his wallet to pay up for the groceries. The shop owner still hadn't looked up to see who exactly was standing at the counter.

"You don't know the half of it. And the WF sends two of their own men around to hassle me for lien pretty often too. Between their protection racket and guys like these assholes, this little shop of mine is bleeding dry." The shopkeeper groaned sadly. "I owe ya though for helping me out. Half price on the…." He trailed off as he stared at the man who was patronizing his establishment. "I know you, you run the bar around the corner, Sammy's!"

"Yeah I do, and you're in there pretty often." Lincoln said casually as he recalled the one the friendly faces from his pub.

"It's cozier and less noisy than that damn nightclub, and you give faunus a place to work and relax in peace. Of course there's also that other bar across town-"

"Oohh. My head." The criminal on the ground moaned in pain, he tried to roll over and stand up despite the injuries he'd sustained.

"Hold that thought." Lincoln said to clerk, he then walked over to the crook on the ground and raised his boot in the air. The beefy bar owner then brutally stomped it down on the back of his target's head to devastating effect. A loud crack and cry of pain from the criminal was the result of the green jacketed man's stomp. "Now you mind telling me why you keep robbing my friend?"

"None of your fucking business! That's why!"

*STOMP*

"OW!"

"Are you going to answer me, or does this have to get even more painful?"

"FUCK YOU!"

*STOMP*

"GAH FUCK! OK! No cops come around here! It's always an easy score! Hell, they don't even bother coming down here since this is Fang turf!"

"I should put a bullet in your head right now and be done with it, I get the feeling no one would miss scum like you and the piece shit over there." Lincoln pulled out his .45 and cocked it. He then put a round in the man's foot for good measure.

"AH WHAT THE FUCK?! MY FOOT!" The small time crook screamed in agony while his foot bled from the bullet wound.

Lincoln yanked his bleeding victim from the floor and ripped the man's mask off. The man in question was a lizard faunus, as evidenced by his reptilian facial features and small horn on his head. After a good moment of memorizing the petty thug's face, Lincoln looked him straight in the eye and began to speak. "This is my neighborhood, not the White Fang's. You got that? If I catch you trying any more of this shit around here again, you'll get a bullet in your back instead of your foot."

A look of fear washed over the man's face while he looked into the stone cold eyes of the veteran soldier. "Don't kill me and I'll do whatever you want!" he screeched in panic.

With that business done, Lincoln threw him to the floor near his partner. He casually walked over to both men and dragged them out of the shop by their jackets. "Good, now get out of here." Once he'd reached the door with his captives, he proceeded to chuck them onto the sidewalk like the human garbage they were. The still conscious crook ended hitting a street lamp post when he landed, which broke his shoulder when coupled with the force of the impact. He then walked back over to the counter and proceeded to pay for his groceries again.

"Now where were we?" Lincoln asked the owner, and received a blank stare from the man for a brief moment.

The shopkeeper was more than a bit shell-shocked by his patron's display of violence. "Y-you, err… Ya just shot someone in my shop, in broad daylight ya know." He replied with an eye twitching at what he'd seen happen right in front of him.

"So did you, and now they won't be coming back. Your welcome." Lincoln replied coolly with a shrug, acting as if nothing had happened at all.

"Right, um that's 20." The stunned clerk shook his head and rang up Lincoln's purchase.

"Done." Lincoln nodded and handed over the card to pay. After a quick swipe of the card, the clerk gave it back and Lincoln prepared to leave with his groceries in hand.

Just as the busy soldier was about to leave, the shop owner decided to speak up. "Hey uh, before you go…"

Lincoln looked back at the clerk and raised an eyebrow. "You need something?"

"You're not for hire are you?" The man asked and Lincoln raised an eyebrow in response.

"I think we can work something out." Lincoln told him.

-1 HOUR LATER-

The criminal that was still conscious had limped his way into the safety of a back alley, while dragging his knocked out friend beside him. He clutched his cracked shoulder in agony, it was a solid reminder of the severe beating he'd suffered and the same could be said for the bullet hole in his foot that he'd wrapped tightly with duct tape. Everything had not gone as they'd planned like usual, they had heard the word on the street about a new player in town, but they hadn't expected him to show up out of nowhere. What kind of guy in the criminal underworld bothers to stop a simple liquor store stick-up? But that wasn't really important at the moment, what mattered to the crook was that he had somewhere to be. He cussed to himself as he hefted his pal over his shoulder and limped to the door at the far end of the alley.

It was a painfully slow slog through the dirty back alley, the wound in his foot making him want to cry with pain during every step forward. That asshole who stopped the robbery was going to get what was coming to him, and the small time thug knew just the people help him get his payback. After several minutes of more stumbling forward, he reached the back door to a shady looking building in the center of the alley. With a grunt of pain he set down his partner and dropped to the floor to writhe in agony.

"That human fucker is going to pay." The criminal groaned as he stood back up from the muddy ground of the alley. With a brief struggle to stay on his feet, the horned lizard faunus knocked on the door. "Open up!"

A metal slit in the door opened. "Password!"

"I forgot the fucking password Glade! But I got a message for Red!"

"Is that you Armin? Your worthless ass had better have something interesting for Red, or he's gonna kick seven shades of shit out of you."

"I'm bleeding here! Just open the Gods-damned door!"

"Fuck, looks like someone already did."

"It was a one of those fucking humans! The motherfucker shot me in my foot and knocked out Skit!"

"And why is Red going to find this important? Some human whoops your ass it's not automatically his problem."

"Oh it is, this guy is claiming he runs the neighborhood! This is the White Fang's turf to rule over!"

"Maybe, but one asshole with a gun shooting your ass ain't shit."

"I thought our motto her is if-"

"Fine, fuck it. You wanna plead your pity case to Red, go right ahead." Glade opened the door to Red's office and gestured for Armin to head on inside at his own peril. "Don't come whining to me again if he shoves his boot up your backside for bothering him."

"Blow it out your ass, Glade." Armin snarled as he limped into the den of his cell's leader. The room was decorated with White Fang propaganda and plenty of weapons and industrial equipment. Several crates of various goods were also scattered amongst the tools and guns, and within those crates was loot plundered from 'greedy humans'. Armin limped to the end of the room, near a back wall that cast a pitch black shadow. Within that shadow was a lit cigarette the managed to slightly illuminate a tiny patch of space within the darkness.

Armin kneeled at the base of the desk that stood just out side of the shadow. He gulped as he tried to find the words for what he was going to say to Red. A creak in front signaled that Red had moved and probably noticed his presence. The petty lizard faunus thug took a quick breath and was about to speak up, but Red beat him to it.

"Why are you in my office, with no tribute?"

"Red, uh I can explain."

"You've got 2 minutes."

"Some fucker stopped me from making a 'donation run' and is trying to take over the White Fang's turf! The human who runs the bar, Sammy's I think!"

"Is that right? And what evidence do you got? All I see is a runt with no tribute and a sob story."

"He knocked out skit and I'm all fucked up! He even said it himself that it's his neighborhood and not yours!"

"Let's say I took you at your word about this new hot shot in town, what do you expect me to do?"

"Roll on his ass! Teach him what we do to humans that aren't learning their place in this town! C'mon Red, he's a threat to the cause! He'll be a problem later if you don't kill him or teach the bastard about his place on the food-chain now! I bet he's the same fucker who got Junior to knuckle under!"

That immediately caught the cell leader's interest. "Did you just say Junior? You're talking about the guy who kicked in Junior's door and took over his business?"

"Yeah! He shot me in the foot and took the dough!"

"Junior was a valuable informant up until recently…. Hmm alright. Go get yourself fixed up, I'll gather the boys."

"Ya mean it Red?!"

"Get out before I stop being generous."

"Right boss!"

-8 HOURS LATER: SAMMY'S BAR-

The bar was lively with the sounds of clinking glasses and drinking songs as locals, both human and faunus alike, were enjoying a pleasant night as usual in Sammy's bar. A pretty tabby cat faunus waitress dropped off some drinks at a table of rowdy patrons who were busy toasting for their pal's bachelor party. Meanwhile at the counter a leopard faunus woman was slinging drinks for the row of thirsty men who'd stopped in the bar to relax after pulling long hours at the docks. Over in the corner of the bar near the back wall, a young faunus boy and his human girlfriend were enjoying a relaxing night in the comfy tavern. All in all, it was a simple day of regular business at Sammy's, and Lincoln couldn't enjoy it more.

He watched the patrons enjoying themselves in peace, humans and faunus alike having a fun night in his place. It was something he'd always waned to see in the del ray Hollow, people just getting along. His kids had all gone to bed and he was keeping an eye on the patrons for the time being from the end of the bar. Donovan stumbled over to him, clearly drunk off of his ass from one too many bottles of the bar's home distilled moonshine.

"Ohhhh hey Lincoln! How's is things going in here?" Donovan said with a heavy drunken slur in his voice.

"Fine, but you need to go sleep off the booze. We've got work to do tomorrow, I know you've got enough sense right now to be careful what you say."

"Riiiiiight! Yeah, got the big day tomorrow! I'lllll sober up, you know me pal. Hehehe."

"Go on, hit the sack. You will regret the headache in the morning though."

"Allllrrrrright. Just one more bottle first!"

"Donovan."

"Alright, I'll get some sleep, ya big killjoy." The drunk spy groaned as he stumbled to the stairs. Lincoln watched as his friend made the quick climb in a humorous way as he briefly struggled to pass the middle section of the staircase. Eventually the intoxicated spy flopped down on the 2nd floor landing and pub crawled to the bedroom. After that, the burly veteran relaxed in his seat and continued to let the nightlife of Vale play out in front him for a few minutes.

A short time later, there was a loud rumble outside from what sounded like a convoy of vehicles. Lincoln went behind the counter and crouched down for cover to stay out of sight. His beautiful bartender cocked her eyebrow at the action until it clicked in her mind and her eyes went wide as dinner plates. She gasped and watched as the bar's front door was violently kicked in with a loud bang. A group of people in grim masks stormed into the building and began pointing their weapons at the patrons. One of the armed people knocked a human man from his seat onto the ground and curb stomped his face. Lincoln reached for the emergency pump action shotgun he kept under the counter and signaled to his bartender not to draw any attention to herself. She gulped as the criminals stood aside and a slim faunus man swaggered through the open door. His mask seemed the most grim like among the members of his gang.

"I'm gonna ask nice. Where is Lincoln Clay? I've heard he's the human who runs this joint." The horned leader said calmly as he looked over the stunned patrons of the bar.

"Err boss? Red?" One of the gunmen piped up, which drew the attention of the leader.

"What?" He snarled at his faunus thug.

"There's faunus here…. Shouldn't we not be pointing guns at em? We're the White Fang." The lowly grunt gulped as he shrunk beneath his boss's cold gaze.

"This place is full of fucking human scum, as far as I'm concerned. If our fellow faunus get in the way, then they're traitors to their own kind as far as I'm concerned, so go ahead shoot em if the fight back." He ordered, clearly uncaring when it came to the issue of bloodshed of any innocent civilian of either race.

The brutal leader of the faunus group eyed the bartender and slowly strode towards her. "If you're here human, come on out! Ya roughed up a few of my men, I'm not leaving til I get retribution." He tried to call out his target. A moment later he'd settled his attention on the barmaid and grunted in amusement. "Well hello. I'm looking for your boss, beautiful. He's hiding behind the counter is he?"

"G-get out of here, you sleazebag! He ain't in here." She said bravely.

"Aw I'm insulted, you hurt my feelings." The man snorted in disregard for her words and then grabbed her by the throat. "Now tell me where mister Clay is." He clenched his fist around her neck.

"Ack- I'm not a rat faunus, you ass. And you ought to pay more attention." She told him with a satisfied grin on her face.

*PUMP CLICK*

"Get the fuck out of my bar." Lincoln growled at Red.

-END CHAPTER-


End file.
